


Endangered and Alone

by rosesofenvy



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Faunus AU, Multi, RWBY au, bird!gavin, cat!ray, human Gents, monkey!Michael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-21 13:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1552325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesofenvy/pseuds/rosesofenvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The three Lads have been hunted ever since they could no longer hide their faunus traits, but after a rather eventful and narrow escape, they wind up in even deeper shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Running Sucks

Michael's breath comes in harsh pants, which he attempts to quiet as he hears the pounding footsteps of the Hunters run underneath the branch he is precariously perched on. He puts a hand over his nose and mouth in an attempt to quiet his heavy breathing as one of the Hunters stop and begin to survey the underbrush and trees, swinging around the flashlight beam close to where he was.

Michael closes his eyes tightly, heart pounding in his ears, as the light passes over, the Hunter yelling "Not Here!" before running off. He let's out the breath he was holding and relaxes against the base of the tree, tail curling around the branch to steady himself. After a few more minutes, to make sure the Hunters were out of hearing range, he whistles lowly, the few tense seconds of silence making panic flow fresh in his veins before a quiet response reaches his ears. It's from about twenty or so feet away as far as he can tell, and quickly after that he glances up as a small whistle comes from right above him. Gavin smiles down at him as he swings his feet around in the cool night air.

Giving a sigh in relief, Michael swings down from the branch to land lightly on the ground, seeing Ray's shadow flit from tree to tree before the man lands gracefully in front of him. He hears the flutter of feathers as Gavin lands less-than gracefully in front of them. Michael rolls his eyes as Gavin mutters under his breath, but looks at the two of them.

"You ok?" He asks quietly, senses on high alert as they remained crouched in the roots of the tree.

"Barely got into the tree time, you assholes have an unfair advantage, I almost got pulled down before you helped me," Ray mutters angrily as he scratches at one of the fluffy ears perched atop his head. His tail swishes irritably behind him, which makes Michael smirk. "

Hey at least you can do it quietly! And Michael has his monkey skills, but my wings make a bloody load of noise!" Gavin protests, his wings quivering in indignation. Ray glares at him, about to retaliate by saying something along the lines of "Cat's aren't meant to climb trees," before Michael interrupts them.

"Shut the fuck up I asked you if you were ok, not if you wanted to have a bitchfight with each other," He huffs, his own tail twitching irritably.

"Yeah, just a bunch of bruises, and I landed on my arm wrong when one of those bastards swiped at my tail, but otherwise I'm all good," Ray shrugs, giving a small thumbs up, "These Hunters are a load of morons, they're stupider than the last group we ran from."

"But they take low blows, one of them kept swingin at my wings! Almost got me a few times too!" Gavin scowls. "Also that guy with the sword caused me to crash into a tree, I got a nasty cut on my leg," Gavin mutters, rubbing at the wound he had wrapped with some torn pieces of his shirt.

"Don't worry bud, he got me too," Michael gestures towards his right arm, where he had yet to wrap the still bleeding wound. Most of the time he had been the one to distract the hunters while Ray could get away or so that Gavin could take to the air.

"Let's hope they don't do anything else too stupi-" Before he could finish that statement Ray claps a hand over his mouth.

"Shhh," Ray hisses, the sound rumbling in is throat. The three of them fall silent as suddenly the sound of returning footsteps and loud voices reach them. Their thoughts stop as their bodies react instantaneously, Ray and Michael jumping toward the nearest tree and scrambling onto the branches, knowing from earlier instances with Hunters that taking the high ground was the easiest. Gavin takes a few seconds to get a running start before jumping to get airborne. He settles quickly beside Michael, and the three of the stare intently at the ground as the Hunters voices get louder.

"Found 'em!" A voice shouts, and panic overruns the three faunus as multiple flashlights land on them, temporarily blinding them since their eyes had adjusted to the night. Gavin immediately starts hopping through the tree branches to get to open air. Michael shoves Ray forward, shouting at the same time for Gavin to get them out. The two of them begin their frantic movements to avoid the lights now trained onto them as the Hunters unsheathe their weapons.

As they bound from tree to tree, Ray looks back to see one of the hunters aiming a sniper rifle at them. He yells at Michael and the two of them split off as a Dust container explodes onto the tree they were previously in. Michael yelps as shards of glass pelt his back, and he's thankful when his tail keeps him from falling to the ground. Similarly, Ray hisses when the remaining shards force him to the ground. He dodges the Hunters and manages to get back into the tree as Gavin dives from his position in the sky to distract them.

"Sorry I can't carry you far Ray, but I can help a bit," Gavin pants, picking Ray up carrying him bridal style to a more secure patch of forest as he dodges arrows.

"Thanks Vav!" Ray grins, now able to easily weave his way through the more open area of trees. Gavin gives him a playful salute as he loops back around to see Michael frantically sprinting through the underbrush. The monkey man screeches as Gavin picks him up without warning to fly quickly to the spot he had dropped off Ray.

"Gavin you fuckass!" Michael growls as Gavin giggles.

"Your welcome!" Michael just snorts as he begins to leap between the trees, ignoring the sound of the Hunters as he catches up with Ray, the two of them now knowing to not remain together for too long since the Hunters were still hot on their could occasionally spot Gavin sweeping large circles over the two of them and the Hunters group, but they didn't expect when Gavin landed quickly on the branch they had both left a moment before.

"They're firing more Dust at random tree's now and they're catching fire," Gavin yells quickly, keeping his wings open as he continues to follow behind Ray and Michael, glancing back repeatedly as the sound of shattering glass and the pungent smell of smoke grows fainter as they move faster.

"Gavin get into the air again!" Michael yells back, "Scout!" Gavin doesn't need to respond as he flies over the two and shoots ahead , leaving them behind temporarily as he finds himself hovering over a clearing a few miles to the west. Looking past it he can spots something that makes him grin, whirling around and flying quickly back to the other two Lads, fear creeping through his pride as he sees the fire growing in size, and he hopes it won't get as far as he thinks. Michael and Ray decide to stick together and do their best to help each other through the thick, blinding haze of smoke. They had long since abandoned the high ground as the trees had caught fire faster than they could move through them.

Through the angry crackling of the fire, Ray hears Gavin yelling at them.

"Michael, Gavin's telling us to get up into the trees again," the cat man coughs, covering his mouth with his arm. Michael taps Ray's arm twice, an unspoken signal of understanding as the two of them climb up a tree, getting as high as they could. They had managed to pull ahead of the Hunters by about half a mile as they sit on the highest branch and try to get their breath back.

"Clearing, two miles," Gavin says quickly as he hovers over the two, becoming worried as the smoke gets thicker.

"Can we get there?" Michael asks, glaring up at Gavin and rubbing at his eyes.

"I can get you two closer, only one at a time though," Gavin says uneasily, eying the flickering flames over the two's shoulders.

"Ray?" Michael looks at the man, questioningly.

"Better than nothing," Ray shrugs. "I should go first because I'm lighter," he jokes, standing unsteadily. Michael snorts.

"You should go first because you suck ass at climbing trees."

"Shut the hell up," Ray laughs, coughing afterwords.

"Get him out of here Gavin, I'll start to head in that direction," Michael says anxiously, dropping down to the ground and beginning to run, and jump from tree to tree, in the direction that Gavin begins flying.

"These damn Hunters are fucking insane, burning down a bloody good forest," Gavin mutters angrily as he books it to the clearing he had seen, ignoring the aching in his wings and back as he flies lower to the treetops in an attempt not to be seen as easy.

"Yeah, I agree with you there Gavin, I think they were hired or something, hired thugs are always dumber," Ray replies, curling is tail close to his body to keep it from clipping tree tops. He sighs gratefully when they manage to get into clearer air, coughing as Gavin swoops unexpectedly down into the clearing. Gavin wincing as he fails at landing and stumbles a few steps. Ray lands easily on his feet and looks at the Brit with concern.

"You going to be alright buddy?" He asks, seeing Gavin continue to wince as he stands.

"Yeah, I won't have to carry Michael as far anyway, i just flew faster than I should've," Gavin grins cheerily, reveling in the silence of the clearing before needlessly brushing off the front of his shirt.

"I'll be back in a few!" He exclaims, taking a few running steps to get into the air before disappearing into the smoke. Ray tracks him until the haze overtakes the Brit's thin form, so he sits on the ground and grimaces at the soot and ash staining his skin and clothes. Gavin doesn't have to fly far before he spots Michael sprinting through the sparse expanse of trees. Gavin pulls up short, swooping down and landing beside Michael, easily matching his pace.

"I'm glad I don't have to carry you Michael, you're pretty close to the clearing," He says cheerily, although his breathing is laboured. Michael doesn't have the breath to answer as he coughs and tries to breathe at the same time. Ray looks up skeptically as he see's Michael stumble out from the treeline, Gavin close behind him. Michael walks over to where Ray's sitting and collapses beside him, lying on his back as he tries to breathe.

"Too tired to carry him Gav?" Ray asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No! He was really close to here so I didn't want to carry him a few feet!" Gavin replies, sitting down in front of Ray and Michael with a concerned look. "Sorry for letting you breathe in the smoke for so long though, I hope you're ok."

"Far... from it," Michael huffs, sitting up and rubbing at his face. "That smoke...can...go fuck itself."

"I agree man," Ray laughs, clapping Michael's shoulder and grinning, "It makes it rough, but I think we're out of range for now." He looks up and is relieved as he doesn't see the telltale flickering of flames, or the sound of the Hunters.

"Why did you bring us here Gav?" Michael questions, able to form sentences after those few moments of rest.

"Oh! I saw a chimney!" Gavin exclaims, perking up, "It looked rather empty plus it's in the middle of nowhere," he grins in pride as Ray grins, but Michael doesn't seem to think it's the best idea.

"Gavin you fucking moron! We don't know if this fucking house is actually abandoned or not! Some people do prefer living in the middle of nowhere you dumbshit!" Michael yells, his voice becoming raspy at the end as he begins coughing. Ray flinches and puts a hand on Michael's shoulder as Gavin shrinks back, wings moving to block his face, a habitual movement.

"Dude, It's worth a try isn't it?" Ray asks, raising his eyebrow as Michael glares. They stare at each other before Michael sighs.

"Fine, but only because I can't run anymore."

Gavin grins, wings folding properly against his back as he jumps up."Might as well get walking, it's still a bit of a ways from here!"

Ray and Michael stand and begin following the now happier Brit. Michael's tail curls around his waist as he examines his arms, wincing a he begins to pull out one of the various glass shards that had buried themselves into his skin when the Dust containers had blown up.

Out of the corner of his eye he see's Ray's tail twitching as the cat man pokes at a burn on his arm. Gavin can feel his wings and back positively aching as he leads the other two Lads to the house he had seen. He let's his wings relax, letting a few of the feathers drag along the ground as he walks slower and slower, stopping abruptly as he spots the house. His heart sinks as he see's that the front window, although covered with curtains, is bright with light. Michael makes a sound of disappointment as well, sighing.

"Well, there goes that plan," he says, leaning against one of the trees on the edge of the small clearing the house was positioned in. Laughter leaks from the house, almost mocking them in a way.

"I'm not up for running anymore," Ray growls, ears flattening to his head as his tail swishes from side to side. "Time for Plan B," he declares, earning curious glances from Michael and Gavin. Before the two could stop him, Ray is standing in front of the door, hand raised to knock. Michael is the first to react, running forward with a protesting yell as Ray knocks loudly on the door, the laughter from inside stopping abruptly. Michael grabs ahold of one of Ray's arms as Gavin grabs the other, both pulling him backwards.

"We can still get away Ray!" Michael hisses.

"What're you thinking Ray!" Gavin says at the same time. Light floods over the Lads before they could move, temporarily blinding them.

"What the...?" a voice asks. The man in front of the door looks at the three men that are currently standing on the porch. Michael's tail is curled around a fence post to give him extra leverage on Ray's arm, which he quickly releases and his tail curls around his waist as soon as he can think again. Gavin's wings fold tightly against his back from their splayed position, and Ray is just grinning mischievously in the middle of them, although that smile fades and drops as he notices the man continues to stare shocked at them. His ears twitch as another voice speaks.

"Geoff who's at the door?" A deep voice asks, joining the tired looking man at the door, 'Geoff'.

"Oh." the man says, eyebrows raising as only silence greets him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends, first work posted on here (yea bud)  
> I made it a RWBY AU which is why there are mentions of Dust  
> Hunters are basically like poachers except they take Faunus and either kill them, or they sell them off in a sort of human trade thing, I'm unsure what to call it.  
> Hope you like it, tell me if I need to improve on anything!  
> 


	2. Guess We Should Thank Them Or Something

"Uh, you three ok?" Geoff asks curiously, staring obviously at their tails and Gavin's wings.

Michael is the first to respond, albeit angrily, "Fuck no we're not." Geoff looks amused at his answer, but doesn't say anything as the other man speaks up.

"You guys are covered in ash, was there a fire or something?" Jack inquires, looking at them closely.

"You could say that," Ray replies nervously.

"Ok I don't know who the hell you are but get the hell inside because I'm tired of standing at the door," Geoff says tiredly, running a hand through his hair. The three of them visibly relax as they follow the man inside. They are impressed by the interior by the home as they are then led to a different room.

"Start off by telling us your names," Geoff says, handing them a towel each to clean off their faces with. Michael looks wary, but is unable to stop Gavin as he gleefully answers.

"I'm Gavin!"

"I'm Ray, and he's Michael," Ray answers for Michael, ignoring the glare he receives.

"I'm Geoff, that's Jack," Geoff says in return, tilting his head at Jack, "Now tell us why the hell you turned up at my house at almost four am."

"Uh," Gavin looks sideways at Michael, not wanting to say the wrong thing. The two of them look at Ray as he begins talking.

"Hunters, they set the forest on fire so we ran." He explains coolly, not giving away too much information. Geoff's gaze hardens, glaring at the wall.

"Are they going after Faunus again? Fucking dammit I thought that had stopped." He growls, "They're one of the many reasons I moved to the middle of fucking nowhere."

"Are you guys really ok?" Jack questions, looking closely at the three of them, now noticing the smaller injuries littering their bodies,

"As I said, fuck no we're not," Michael replies, holding his arm close to his body in a poor attempt to not to drip blood onto the floor. Geoff sighs and rubs a hand over his face.

"I'll go get the medical kit," he mutters, moving to a different part of the house.

"So, how long have you been running?" Jack questions, not giving any time for an awkward silence to occur. The three lads look unsure.

"Uh, how close is the nearest city?"

Jacks eyes widen slightly, "Ten miles to fifteen miles depending on the direction, have you guys really been running that long?"

Gavin shrugs, "I don't know, Lad's?" He looks to Ray and Michael.

"We've been running for awhile, that's all I can tell you," Ray replies with a shrug.

Geoff walks back, holding a white box. "You guys are pretty lucky to find us then I guess, because you look like shit to be honest."

"Wow thanks that just does wonders for our self esteem," Michael says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Of course, all three of them know it's true, their clothes and skin are stained with soot and ash, and they're pretty beat up.

"Which of you two are going to be subjected to torture first?" Geoff asks jokingly as he sets the box on the counter. Jack rolls his eyes at Geoff's humor and looks at the three of them, both Ray and Gavin were staring at Michael.

"Seriously guys? I don't think I'm the one who got the worst of it," He snorts, but takes a few steps forward and lets Geoff take ahold of his arm. Jack looks at Gavin and tugs the man closer to the counter, noticing the shirt wrapped around his leg.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Michael, but you sorta kinda did get the worst of it, Gavin got the second worse most likely, and because I'm just a boss I didn't get hurt that badly." Ray replies, ears twitching mischievously.  
"Shut the fuck up Ray," Michael grumbles, wincing as Geoff wraps the cut on his arm.

"So I'm assuming you guys have no place to stay for the night, correct?" Jack asks, looking at them out of the corner of his eyes.

"Well uh, no, we're sort of on the run you know? Can't stay in one place for too long or anything," Ray answers nervously.

Geoff sighs as he looks upward at the ceiling, "Oh boy, three more freeloaders," he shakes his head in exasperation, "There's a guest bedroom you guys can have, you just have to share the bed."

Michael pauses, "There's only one bed?"

"Yeah but it'll be big enough for the three of you," Geoff replies, raising an eyebrow.

"You sure about that? Do you realize how large Gavin's wingspan is?" Ray retorts, crossing his arms. His tail swishes back and forth audibly.

"What are you saying Ray?" Gavin squawks indignantly, feathers fluffing up, causing Jack to lean backwards to avoid a face-full of feathers.

"Dude your wings will toss us off the bed! They're each longer than you are tall!" Michael buts in, pointing at Gavin's wings.

"When have I ever done that?"

"Any time we've had to share a bed!" Michael and Ray yell simultaneously. Gavin's wings move to cover his face at their loud voices, ruffled feathers smoothing over slightly as he mutters under his breath.

Geoff and Jack stare at the three of them, before laughing a bit, "Jesus dicks dudes, I didn't say you had to share one bed, there's also a couch and a futon in the living room, help yourselves."

Michael glares at Geoff, crossing his arms with a small huff, "Nice to tell us that after we started arguing."

"Hey I'm letting you guys stay here, don't piss off the host," Geoff tosses over his shoulder as he takes the medical supplies back to where he got them. Jack shakes his head with a small smile.

"Ok, guest room's down the hall on the left, the living room is right through that doorway so flip a coin or whatever." Jack points down each of the hallways as Geoff walks back in.

Ray shrugs, "Why flip a coin? I'll take the futon, Gavin'll take the bed because if he doesn't he'll complain about his wings hurting for the next few days, and Michael can have the couch."

Michael nods in agreement, "Seems the most logical, plus we're both the smallest so we'll sleep easier anyway.

"Not my fault my wings are bloody huge!" Gavin squawks indignantly, looking ruffled as he turns towards the hallway, following Jacks instructions.

"Just shut the fuck up and don't get up till around nine, I'm going to be pissed if you guys wake me up!" Geoff shouts from somewhere else in the small house.

"So basically goodnight," Jack says, giving them a small salute before turning off the lights. Their Faunus traits allow their eyes to adjust easily to the darkness and they are able to easily make their way to the living room.

After they lay down, Ray can hear Michael chuckle quietly, "How much do you want to bet that Gavin breaks something by morning."

"Dude it's not even a guess, it's a fact," the cat Faunus replies in agreement.

"True, so 'night Ray,"

"Night."

* * *

The two of them wake almost immediately at the sound and scent of frying meat.

Ray squints at the bright sunlight filtering through the window as he yawns and stretches, ears lying back at the action. He walks into the kitchen, with Michael following close behind, to see Geoff standing in front of the stove, the man grumbling a bit under his breath.

Gavin is sitting at the table, a sightly sheepish look on his face as he eats at an apple.

"What did you break something already Vav?" Ray asks jokingly as he sits across from the bird, grabbing a slice of bacon that's sitting in the middle of the table.

"Yeah he fucking did! Knocked a few paintings off the walls and then knocked a glass off the table!" Geoff replies for him, turning around to glare before turning off the stove and dishing out the remaining foods.

"Jeez Gavin, how'd you do that?"

"I was stretchin' my wings! I just sorta forgot how small the space was," the man replies, keeping his gaze on the table with a sheepish grin on his face.

Michael rolls his eyes, giving the bird Faunus a smack over the head as he grabs his own portion of breakfast.

After a few minutes of them all eating quietly, Geoff is the one to break the silence.

"So are you going to head out anytime soon? Because if you are then we'll have to head into town."

Michael jerks his head up, frowning, "What do you mean head into town? I mean we'll get out of your hair soon enough, probably by tonight right?" He glances at the other two and they nod in agreement.

Geoff frowns as well, "Really? I mean you guys are hurt, and if you're on the run then you need like food and stuff right? At the least we can run into town and get you some supplies."

"You shouldn't do that! It's enough that you've let us stay here!" Gavin quickly protests.

"Let's not play this game, " Geoff sighs, "When are you heading out, because before that I'll give you guys stuff to survive for a few days or something."

The three of them look at each other, seemingly having a conversation through facial expressions.

"Uh, I guess we'll head out tomorrow then, that way you have time to get stuff together," Ray says uncomfortably.

"Sounds good, give me a few minutes and we can head out-" Geoff begins to say before Michael cuts him off.

"Are you wanting us to go with you?" he asks in a slightly panicked tone, tail curling around his waist.

"Well yeah, is there a problem with that?" Geoff raises an eyebrow.

"Oh I don't know, just the fact that most of humanity hates Faunus I mean, do you think that's a good reason not to go?" Ray retorts, his voice slightly higher pitched than usual.

"Jesus dicks, the town north of here, not the one you came from, is practically run by faunus, it's where me and Jack go when we need to get supplies." Geoff sounds like he 's exasperated by their seemingly logical questions.

"Ok fine," Michael agrees first, glancing over at Gavin and Ray as they nod as well, albeit not as sure.

"We'll leave in half an hour, I need to tell Jack that we need to leave." With that Geoff leaves them alone.

"Is this really a good idea," Gavin hisses, looking worried.

"Considering the fact that they let us stay the night and the fact that they're getting stuff for us I think it's fine," Ray replies looking over at Michael for his input.

"If the town's run by faunus then it should be fine right? Plus yeah, they're getting us stuff so that means we won't have to steal for at least a few weeks."

"Yeah, but still..."

"Still what Gavin! It'll be fine, if the Hunters were South of here then it'll be fine, especially if we're going further North," Michael retorts.

"Ok ok! Fine!" Gavin huffs, sitting back slightly before grimacing and sitting up again as a few of his feathers come loose.

"Bollocking heck," He mutters, brushing his fingers through his primaries. He perks up suddenly and grins, "I'm going to ask Geoff if I can fly around a bit outside! I'm absolutely itching to get in the air!"

Ray snorts, "Even though you flew for fucking ever yesterday?"

"Well see that's different Ray, I was forced to fly then so it wasn't enjoyable or anything-"

"Shut the fuck up Gavin, it's not different at all," Michael replies.

"But it is Michael! Just think of it as-"

"Don't try to finish that sentence, just go fucking find Geoff and do whatever the fuck it was you were going to do." Michael leans back in his chair, keeping himself balanced by wrapping his tail around the table leg.

Gavin pouts as he stands, ruffling up his feathers in irritation and becoming even more irritated as he sees a few more feathers float to the ground.

* * *

Once outside he see's Geoff talking with Jack off to the side. They seem to be having a rather serious discussion, Geoff is waving his arms around as if to extenuate a point and Jack just seems annoyed.

"Hey Geoff! I'm going to fly around a bit ok!" Gavin calls cheerily, waving over at them.

Geoff looks startled for a second, pausing his conversation with a confused expression before nodding, giving Jack a small nudge as the two men conspicuously watch Gavin out of the corner of their eyes.

Gavin doesn't pay attention to them, or even Ray and Michael who followed him outside as he grins up at the sun. There's a slight breeze and the rays warm his skin as he stretches out his arms to either side, his wings following the action as they splay out to their full span.

As the wind picks up he partially folds his wings in to lean into the wind, rising up onto the balls off his feet. Rocking between his front and back feet for a few seconds, he takes off at high-speed sprint into the clearing in front of the house. Usually he has more space to work with, but he doesn't mind as he crouches while maintaining his speed and leaping into the air, wings snapping out audibly as he catches pockets of air underneath them to buoy himself in the air.

A happy sigh leaves him as he angles to circle over the house, seeing the four on the ground watching him. With his hawk-like vision he can see the awe on Geoff and Jacks faces, and he grins, deciding to show off a bit.

Flapping quickly to gain altitude, he raises himself to a point that the air begins to get thin, his lungs adapting quickly thanks to his birdlike genes. Pausing his ascent, he looks down to see that the men are little more than dots, although Michael has climbed the nearest tree and is more visible from the top branches. He gives Gavin a thumbs up, which Gavin takes as a cue to begin his descent.

He lets his body curl into an arc, angling his face downwards. His hair is blown back as he increases his speed by folding his wings tight against his back. When he can see the terror on the Gents faces, he grins and pulls up, being forced into a flip in order to slow his momentum to a safe pace. He expands on the flip by corkscrewing upward as he snaps out his wings again, now arcing backwards to loop around towards the ground.

He skims the grass, feeling the blades brush against the frontside of his body. He forcefully creates a mini-whirlwind as he pulls up, ruffling Jack and Geoff's clothes and hair. Doing a final flip in the air, he lowers himself to the ground, broad wings using a minimal amount movement to the spread out once more to their full length to cool off.

Geoff and Jack applaud quietly, and Gavin gives a few mock bows as his wings fold halfway against his back, still arcing over his head.

"Man I haven't flown like that for days!" Gavin exclaims, brushing a few stray locks of hair out of his face. Michael and Ray, since they had both been traversing a few of the trees, run up alongside him.

"Showoff," Michael punches the bird Faunus's shoulder lightly, but smiles as Gavin just grins at him.

"But I will say that was probably one of the best improvised corkscrew flip you've done Vav," Ray compliments, giving a less harsh pat to Gavin's shoulder.

"Yeah, It was either that or fall out of the sky," Gavin jokes as the two Gents walk over.

"So when you're up there does your body adjust to the atmosphere?" Jack questions, curiously peering at Gavin's face.

"Yep! I've got sight like a hawk up there! And if I rise high enough, my lungs are adaptable to the thinner amount of oxygen, so I'm able to breath easy. Plus it helps that my bones are lighter too, not that their any less sturdy."

"Huh, see my girlfriend Griffon is also a bird Faunus, she never really tells me about how she flies and stuff though, she's a type of hawk," Geoff says, "Her wings are quite similar to yours actually, but hers are much smaller."

"So are you guys as showy as this one?" Jack asks, smirking as Gavin squawks.

"Nah, see we just have tails and I have ears, i mean as a cat I have wicked good sight and balance, but not much else for me." Ray shrugs.

"I can climb trees well and that's about it, being a monkey doesn't do as much as you'd think." Michael agrees.

"Interesting," Geoff nods, "Anyway, if we start heading to town now we should be able to make it home by sundown."

Michael's eyebrows crease, but he nods, "Alright then, lets set off."

He has a bad feeling about this.

* * *

 

AN:  
Yay and update at a fashionable time! I'm too lazy to put the notes in the right place so they're going here. I'll apologize in advance for any mistakes in here, I was typing fast and didn't really proofread. (Also I know there're some mistakes in the last chapter so I'll apologize for those as well, sorry)  
(RvB NEW EPISODE POSTED TODAY *heavy breathing*)  
Hope you enjoyed it my lovelies!


	3. Knew This Was A Bad Idea

The walk to town is nothing considering how much they've been running for the past few days. As they get nearer and nearer to the town, the more nervous they get.

"Dude I've got a bad feeling," Ray murmurs, almost silently so that the two Gents wouldn't hear him. The cat faunus's ears are pressed almost flat against his head. Michael glances over, nodding.

"I'm really regretting this," The monkey faunus says in agreement.

Gavin shrugs, "I'm just uneasy, but I just think it's because we're traveling in daytime."

In front of them, Geoff and Jack stop abruptly, causing the three of them to almost fall into their backs. Geoff smirks at them,

"Secrets don't make friends you know."

Michael snorts, "Claiming we're friends now? Why'd you stop?"

"Not really, and it's because we're here, Victoryburg," Geoff nods upwards, and they notice the sign proclaiming VICTORYBURG suspended over their heads.

"Oh." Michael says simply, and the three of them stand there for a few seconds before following the two Gents. As they said, the town is literally run by Faunus, which the three Lads easily tell because every person surrounding them has animal traits.

It's a small and quaint town with a lot of little stores and booths and houses. A few children run past them and Ray jumps slightly as one of them barks at the other.

Michael and Gavin hide their laughter as Ray glares at them.

"Ok, so me and Jack need to get some food and stuff for the cabin, so you three just sort of walk around a bit and come find us if you need some extra money or something, just don't break anything or get into trouble." Geoff says sternly.

"We'll be fine Geoff," Gavin chirps, his wings sort of fluffing up as Ray and Michael also nod.

Once the two Gents head off in a different directions Gavin eagerly begins looking at the booths, Ray and Michael trailing behind but still looking at things, occasionally stopping to ask about something.

Gavin stops in front of a booth with a bird Faunus working on a piece of clothing.

"Hello there!" Gavin greets as he looks at her wares. They consist mostly of almost armour looking clothing and a few carved pieces.

The woman pauses in her work, turning to see who's talking before smiling and turning totally.

"Hey there fellow bird Faunus, My name's Griffon, how's it going?" She asks good naturedly.

"Awesome! My name's Gavin, I've never been to a town occupied by only Faunus, this place is really cool! Is it nice living here?" Gavin replies, a smile stretching across his face.

"Oh yeah, it's amazing, most of us are actually like travelers, we never really stay here for long, only to sell a few items and travel all over the continent, it's real nice."

"That's awesome! So what're you selling?" Gavin questions, rubbing a bit of the material between his fingers. The quality was amazing, with thin threads that he could barely detect.

"Well the clothes are specially created for bird Faunus or any Faunus with tails or wings in general, I've met a few reptilian faunus on my travels once so they can also incorporate spikes." She takes down a long sleeved shirt that's a deep forest green colour with golden bronze plating.

"This one is made for larger winged birds like yourself, in the back the slits for wings have flexible protective plating the can be attached with customized wing guards. The fabric is flame resistant and can't rip unless if you take a sword to it, good for when you're in a bind."

She grabs a smaller-sized one off of a hanger and slides it smoothly over her head and allows her wings to push through the slits in the back. "The fabric is also made so that your wings will slide through the slits without ripping the fabric or hurting your wings," she grins and lets her wings stay semi open as she turns to show him the way the plating layers against the base of the wings.

"That's amazing Griffon! Do you handmake these all yourself?" Gavin asks in awe, staring down at the shirt.

"Naturally, sometimes I have help but most of the time I work on these on my own, honestly the hardest part is guessing how large the slits in the back need to be, since I have small wings it's harder to tell."

"Awesome! I'm going to get this one, my friends and I are going to start running again soon," Gavin explains as he hands the shirt to Griffon and allows her to wrap it up after he pays her.

"I wish you luck then, have safe travels!" She calls out as he begins walking away. He smiles and waves back at her before running to catch up with Ray and Michael who're walking a bit further ahead. Just when he reaches the two of them, Ray hurries ahead of them, grinning from ear to ear as he stops in front of a sort of booth/store. Sitting behind a table is a girl with bunny ears that move minutely at the sounds surrounding her.

Laid out on the table in front of her is various weapons in various stages off assemblement. A majority of them are guns, although Michael begins looking at a broadsword laid out on the side of the table.

"Dude are you kidding me! I had this one when I was younger," Ray lifts up a hybrid gun, tossing it between his hands before clicking a button on the side. A grin alights his face as he props it against the table, "ShotSnipe hybrid with full silencers and explosive components." He lists off with a grin, the girl smirks proudly.

"Fully transfomative ability into double pistols as well, installed it myself."

"Damn, does it wire into the explosives?"

"Yep, separate them into pistols, one of them becomes the explosive, the other remains with the Shotgun components and the Sniper scope. The bullets are fully compatible with the three guns and can be used to make more powerful explosives." She continues.

"Holy shit, how much?" Ray asks eagerly.

"2,500, Which the price includes enough bullets to last you for about a month on the run," She pulls out a sort of belt with the ammo loaded onto it. Rays ears perk as he pulls out the amount.

"Dude I have literally that amount holy shit this is awesome," he crows, giving her the money and grinning widely as he's handed the weapon.

"Pleasure doing business with you, if you ever need more bullets, just contact me, of course if you're in a bind and can't get them from me, any bullets to the three guns are compatible."

"Thanks!" Ray answers, sliding the belt of bullets around his waist and giving the seller a thumbs up, which she returns, as he slides the gun into the holster strapped on his thigh.

"I think we're just about prepared for everything," Michael jokes, gesturing to Ray's new weapon, his own sword, and Gavin's new shirt.

"Hm, yeah guess you could say that," Gavin jokes right back. Ray grins and lets his hand rest on the top of the gun. However Ray suddenly slides his hand to grip the handle of the gun as his ears move to lie flat against his head. His tail swishes back and forth in an agitated manner as he adopts an almost defensive stance.

"Move move move," he hisses, grabbing ahold of Gavin's wrist and letting Michael follow them as he slides between two buildings.

"What Ray?" Gavin squawks, but is quickly quieted when Michael slaps a hand over his mouth.

"Please tell me they're not," Michael groans in frustration, removing his hand from Gavin's mouth and his other hand gripping the sword as he begins to hear what Ray had. Ray just grimaces and loads a few bullets into the gun.

The Hunters suddenly come into view, and from their hiding spot the three Lads observe what occurs.

The vendors come out from behind their booths and out of their stores, hiding weapons underneath shirts and into boots as defenseless Faunus (which there are very few) back off.

"The hell do you think you're doing here," Griffon says, stepping to the front with a hardened glare, addressing the Hunter at the front.

"Just cleaning up a bit of a mess that we've been dealing with for awhile, we understand you Faunus are not to be messed with but we're looking for a certain trio, have you happened to see them pass through?" The lead one sneers, propping a hand on his waist and twirling a gun around a finger.

"As if we would even tell you, why would these Faunus be a 'mess to clean up'?" Griffon continues to speak, taking a threatening step forward.

"Well these three are practically criminals, they've murdered and ruined property since they've been young, easy to spot but hard to catch the three of them are. It would be greatly appreciated if you would tell us if you've seen them."

Ray growls, the sound rumbling in his throat, and Michael has to be held back by Gavin as the monkey lunges forward.

"Well you're not being very descriptive right now to be honest, mind telling us what these faunus look like?" Griffon scowls, her wings fluffing themselves up in irritation.

"A cat, monkey, and bird. They're all near the same age, and all three of them are males. The bird is of Hawk origin, his wings are much larger than yours, the cat has black fur, the monkey is redheaded, do you need names as well? I assure you that it's a very urgent reason why we need them."

Griffon keeps a poker face as she replies, "And if we have seen these three, what would you do to them?"

The Hunter shrugs, "That's really none of your business lady, now have you seen them or not?"

Geoff steps from his place from the crowd, "No, none of us have, now you should leave."

The Hunter glares at Geoff, however doesn't budge, "Search the place, they're definitely here."

The sound of a gun being cocked rings through the air as the bunny-eared faunus has the barrel of a gun pressed against the Hunters forehead.

"You have no right to search, now leave," her voice is hard as steel as the other faunus draw their weapons as well. The Hunter merely sighs in annoyance.

"Why must you make this difficult," Behind him the Hunters give no warning as the charge forward. Before they can reach the faunus however, a voice rings out.

"Stop!" Gavin yells, stumbling from their hiding place. Ray and Michael join him, although they've hidden their weapons so that they seem defenseless. The Hunters pause in their charge and look at the leader. All of the Faunus have turned to look at the three of them, and a few of them almost look panicked, as if they wanted them to stay hidden.

"Goddammit we've fucked up," Michael sighs, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Really sorry about all of this guys," Ray apologizes, looking concerned as the Bunny-eared girl lowers her gun and steps aside. Griffon glares at them in a way that says 'why didn't you stay hidden.'

"We really didn't want to cause trouble." Gavin says, halfway crouching and taking a few steps backwards. The lead Hunter begins running forward as he begins the action, shouting at the other Hunters to stop them.

The other Faunus begin quickly moving as well, running after the Hunters and stopping a few of them as Gavin leaps into the air, working hard to get airborne as Michael and Ray get out their weapons with flair, Michael's sword folding out from its compacted hilt and Rays gun loading itself them splitting into the pistols.

Gavin does a few aerial sweeps, diving into the fray and distracting the Hunters from the few faunus that were struggling. Ray takes on the lead Hunter, the two of them beginning to exchange bullets at a quick rate, and Ray is assisted by the bunny eared girl, which helps to quickly end his fight.. The idiot with a sword charges at Michael, but the Monkey faunus is quick to shut him down, only taking a blow to the shoulder before hitting the Hunter unconscious with the hilt of his sword.

Within a few minutes the faunus have the Hunters completely defeated and running, and the three Lads are left with questioning looks from the entire town. They all stare at their feet in sheepishness as their companions plus Griffon stalk forward.

"Better start explaining yourselves," Geoff is the first to speak, his voice a low growl as he stares down at Michael.

"It's not like we wanted them to follow us, listen, we've been chased by those bastards for literally years over something we don't even know, they've always said that we caused something and that if we would just play along then they wouldn't hurt us," Michael answers, his glare matching Geoffs, "We all know how true that is."

"We're not saying it's your fault, we're just concerned to why the Hunters would dare enter faunus territory looking for you guys," Griffon says, cutting off what Geoff was about to reply.

"Like Michael said we aren't sure, they never really said." Ray says, shaking his head.

"Well you definitely can't stay here, they'll be coming back once they organize again," Bunny-ears says, cocking her head to the side.

"Tina, " Griffon sends her a sideways glance, "Is right, we can probably keep them off your trail for a day if you start moving as soon as possible."

"What do you mean start moving?" Gavin asks, looking confused.

"We're leaving obviously," Jack answers, "We can get you to another safe spot within a few days until we can find a better place."

"Wait wait wait, you're helping us?" Michael seems even more confused, his eyebrows scrunching up, tail curling around his waist.

"What do you expect us to do? Leave you to the Hunters? All of us have been on the run at some point, it's the least we can do to help out some fellow faunus, and it especially appears that you've gotten yourselves into a bit of trouble." Griffon shrugs.

The three of them stare at her until Geoff sighs, "We'll get going, Jack and I will send word when we're safe, and you guys will need to send word when they start tracking us, sorry for bringing these trouble makers to mess up your day."

Tina smiles, "Like Griffon said, we would've helped them anyway, we'll tell you when."

"Stay safe ok," Griffon gives Geoff a pointed look, giving the man a quick hug before taking a few steps back, "I'll be the one to send word, good luck."

The three lads watch the transaction carefully, feeling guilty as they begin walking away from the town. There's silence between them before Jack breaks it.

"We really don't care about whatever it was you did, we just don't want those Hunters to capture you."

"Heh, thanks for that I guess, we've been on the run so much that we aren't really used to people helping us."

"You've been running to the wrong places then obviously," Geoff snorts, "So we're headed to a small city more NorthWest of here, I have a friend that can get us a place to stay before we head to a place that you guys should be safe."

Ray frowns, "These people are ok with faunus though right?"

Geoff laughs, "Why wouldn't they be?"

* * *

 

AN:  
Much sorry for the late update and the probably confusing chapter.  
There is reasoning behind this chapter though, even though it doesn't seem like it. Hopefully my next update will make more sense.  
They will have badass weapons like in RWBY, as I have already demonstrated with Ray's ShotSnipe. Michael's sword is a collapsible Broadsword that has a small cache in the hilt that can hold Dust, the mechanics in the blade also allow it to be separated into two shorter knives.  
Gavin does not yet have a weapon but I will give him one soon, Jack and Geoff also have weapons but I will describe them later.  
I apologize for any mistakes, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
(I also hope it isn't too confusing)  
Until next update.


	4. Well Now That You're Also Runnning...

They aren't walking for more than an hour before the path evens out and it appears that they are on an actual dirt road and not just a forest path.

"So who's the friend you're taking us to?" Michael asks, only because the silence between them all was becoming overpowering.

"Well there's a few, the one that can get you guys a safe place to stay is Joel, although he lives in the city to the west. I'm thinking that the other guy I was going to take you guys to no longer lives as close to where we're headed so we'll have to pass that offer up."

"So basically in another day of travel we'll be in the next town right?" Ray asks thoughtfully, calculating in his head.

"Less actually, Burnie lives in the next town over and he'll give us some wheels, and by wheels I mean a hovercraft," Jack answers, grinning.

"Nice, so we won't have to walk all the way there," Gavin grins as well at the thought of not having to walk as much.

* * *

Burnie is actually standing outside of his small house when they get there, and the man greets them with a small wave. He gives the three faunus a cursory glance before clapping Geoff on the shoulder.

"Finally gotten into trouble again have ya? I knew you would at some point," Burnie smirks as Geoff huffs.

"Nice to see you too Burnie, and shut up."

Burnie laughs before turning to the three Lads, "So these are the three faunus? They sure seem like the type to get into trouble."

"Oi! That's rude!" Gavin squawks, feathers unconsciously puffing up behind him.

"However it is true," Ray sighs, shaking his head.

"So as far as i can discern you basically need to get to Joel right?" Burnie turns back to Geoff.

"Yep, gotta get these morons to a safe place before we can continue on with our lives."

"Hey we never asked for your help," Michael butts in, glaring at Geoff.

"Minor details," Geoff waves him away, "What can you give us Burnie? No guarantees on returns of course."

Burnie rolls his eyes, "Of course, anyway, some guy jut sold me a generation three hovercraft, it's a bit older but it's in damn good condition. The one with wings'll even have enough room."

Gavin draws his wings close to his back self-consciously, which Michael notices and subtly moves closer to Gavin's side. Ray glances at the two of them of of the corner of his eyes but doesn't say anything, hiding his knowing grin behind his hand as they follow Burnie to behind his house.

The 'Generation three hovercraft' is still parked outside of the small garage and they can clearly tell it's an older model. Jack even raises an eyebrow at it.

"Well I'm assuming it's for ground cover only, I doubt this thing can go anymore than three feet in the air."

"Hey hey don't go dissing it right off the bat! You need a vehicle, and this can get you to Joel's before dusk falls," Burnie tosses Jack the keys. "It'd be awesome if you could get it back to me, but if not then fine. You'll just owe me."

"Thanks Burns, even though you're an asshole you know how to help out," Geoff grins.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! You left this here the last time you visited," Burnie says, running into his house to grab something and bringing it back out. The simple shotgun is cradled in Geoffs hands for a few seconds before he smiles and thanks Burnie.

"I thought I'd left it here, thanks Burnie, now I won't have just my pistol."

Ray walks up to Geoff, peering curiously at the weapon, "Dude that's all you have? That's literally the oldest weapon I've ever seen, isn't that just a shotgun?"

"Yes, it's simple and powerful as dicks! I don't need some ridiculously souped up weapon unlike you," Geoff scoffs, putting the holster for his shotgun onto his back so that he can have the one for his pistol on his hip.

"Excuse you Geoff, we don't even need weapons, they're just helpful in tight situations," Michael retorts, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows.

"Is that why you ended up at our place?" Jack asks, his quip making the Lads fall silent.

"Jesus Christ guys, you're not going to get to Joel's before it's dark at this rate," Burnie huffs, walking in between them.

"You know what Burnie-" Geoff begins to say but Burnie cuts him off.

"Shut up Geoff, I need to ask you about someone," Burnie looks pointedly at Geoff, the serious tone in his voice making Geoff not question it.

"Alright, Jack make sure they don't kill each other, and don't let any of them drive," Geoff orders as he follows Burnie to the edge of his property that leads into the forest.

Burnie looks at the faunus warily, hoping they're out of earshot, "Have you heard from him lately?" He asks quietly, making sure his back is turned to the Lads.

Geoff's expression adopts a more frustrated emotion, "No, I've tried contacting him multiple times, Joel even said he couldn't get in touch, if we're in the area I plan to visit him because he hasn't said a word since Jack and I moved out here."

"Nothing on my end as well, I'm hoping he didn't get attacked by Hunters or something, with all the Faunus he's been saving lately."

"Shit I never even thought of that possibility," Geoff curses, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "If anything we'll make a detour after checking in with Joel."

"Alright, make sure to stay in touch though, it would be bad if you died and stuff," Burnie jokes.

"Yeah yeah, you stay safe as well, if you do get in touch with him make sure to contact me," Geoff says mock sternly as he turns and begins walking towards the hovercar. Burnie nods and waves goodbye.

Jack looks at him curiously when he climbs in, but doesn't ask as Geoff shakes his head.

Guess they'll just have to hope for the best for their old friend.

* * *

AN:

Who is the mysterious man I avoided mentioning his name? 'Tis such a mystery, so much mystery why there's no way anyone'll ever be able to guess wow. (note the sarcasm)  
Sorry for the crappy update, this is basically just a filler chapter. But I'm going to the premiere of The Fault In Our Stars tonight so I'll probably work on typing it while I' waiting. I have big plans for the future, probably next chapter is when the good stuff'll start.  
Hope you guys enjoyed it anyway, until the next update.


	5. Well There Goes Every Single Plan We Had

The City is close on the horizon as the sun sets, and Geoff turns to the three Faunus lads as the hovercar stops just before entering it.

"Listen, most of the people here are okay with faunus, but,-"

"Always a but," Ray mutters.

"But," Geoff glares at him, "There are many Hunter Outposts here, although in the City they call them Falconers, even though plenty of people would be willing to help you, there are plenty more Falconers there to capture you."

Michael scowls, "So you are literally taking us into a City full of people prepared to capture us at a moments notice, that's basically suicide for us, you realize that right?"

"Well we're obviously not going to just make you get out right now as you are," Jack replies with a frown, turning in his seat to look at them.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Gavin asks, looking confused.

Geoff smiles, "I'm so glad you asked Gavin, of the few things we managed to get in Victoryburg, we had the insight to grab some hats for you two and a trenchcoat for you." Geoff tosses the clothing items at them respectively and grins smugly.

"Dude this'll get annoying quick," Ray mutters as he tries to maneuver his ears to a comfortable position underneath the beanie, simultaneously making sure they wouldn't be noticeable.

"Why do I have to wear a beanie?" Michael asks, slipping it over his unruly curls and glancing over at Geoff.

"So that Ray'll look less suspicious, Jack will also be wearing a coat so that Gavin is less suspicious as well," he explains quickly, glancing out the window as a few hovercars hurry past them.

"Make sure to hide your tails too," Jack tosses over his shoulder as he steps out of the hovercar, checking to see if anyone is watching them. From past experiences, he knows that Falconers have multiple informants hidden all over the city.

Michael grumbles as he curls his tail tightly around his waist, covering the auburn appendage by pulling his shirt over it. Ray sighs and tucks his tail into his jeans as if he was tucking in a shirt.

"Man this feels real weird," Gavin comments as he attempts to keep his wings covered by the coat, but the very bottom feathers keep managing to be seen from just below the hem. Before Gavin can start complaining, Jack gets back in and starts to drive without giving them any warning. The four of them curse as they fail at keeping their balance and fall onto their asses.

"What the hell Jack?!" Gavin yelps, managing to get upright by gripping tightly onto the back of Jacks seat. Both Michael and Ray's balance has been affected since they had both restrained their tails so they basically had been tossed onto the ground.

"Sorry, saw a Falconer and they were starting to approach the car in a not very friendly manner," Jack replies tersely, glancing in a side mirror and slowing down when he see's that they're not being followed.

 _Yet_ , Jack thinks to himself.

"Guess we'll have to ditch the car then, sorry Burns," Geoff says, also managing to stay upright by holding onto onto the back of the passenger seat. Only the slightest mocking smirk is on his face as he moves to sit, pulling a map out of his pocket.

"We'll park the car in a parking lot nearby, but not too close, to where Joel will be, then we'll just have to stick to back-ways to hopefully get there unnoticed." Geoff frowns as he traces the intended path with his finger, feeling unsure about his plan when he notices how close they'll have to pass by one of the Falconers Outposts.

"Seems like the best plan, where is it?"

Geoff chews his lip, "Take a right up here then a left after a block."

Jack glances over sharply, knowing that nearby was one of the biggest Outposts, but he can tell that Geoff doesn't want to go this way either; that it was only their best option.

"What's the big deal about these Falconers anyway? They're just Hunters right? Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Michael questions, glancing out the window in curiosity.

Geoff barks out a laugh, "'Just Hunters', yeah right, the big deal about Falconers is that these are the guys that order around Hunters, these are the big wigs here, and there's probably at least one person in there that has been sending the Hunters after you for so long. Plus one Falconer can account for a group of twenty Hunters, these guys are the experts."

The three faunus look at each other, eyes wide from this new information.

"So you're saying that if one of the Falconers notice us they'll basically take us back to whoever?" Ray asks quietly, his voice slightly shaky.

"Oh that's a promise," Jack says grimly, pulling to a sudden stop.

"Here's the parking lot by the way." They don't give the hovercar a second look as the five of them hurry from the openness of the parking lot to a back alley. The shadowed space actually offers comfort, since they're out of sight from prying eyes.

"Joel's is just across the way from here, just through a few more alleys and we'll be there." Geoff avoids mentioning that they're currently in the alleys directly behind the Outpost. The sound of a door opening startles them all and Geoff realizes that he's made a grave mistake as a door ahead of them, on the Falconer building, is slammed open and a few guys walk out. They almost instantly turn to look at them and confusion is clear on their faces before one of them opens his mouth, realization on his face clear.

"Shit on my dick," Geoff hisses running forward and pistol whipping one guy with the handle of his shotgun while the other one is punched in the face by Jack. "Come on guys!" He whisper shouts at the Lads, although they willingly follow as an alarm begins whining in the distance. They attempt to ignore the shouting behind them as they all leg it from the alleyway, traversing into open roads for a few seconds until Michael gives a shout of alarm, grabbing at his shoulder.

They turn back to see the monkey faunus trying to continue running as well as stop the blood that's beginning to drip down his arm. Michael's tail has long since unwound from his waist, but now it returns to it's curled position as he grits his teeth.

"Michael!" Gavin shouts in panic, running back to where Michael had inevitably stopped running. Ray turns around as well, searching the ground and air before he spots a Falconer on the rooftop of what he figures is the Outpost that's partially kneeling on the ground in order to aim a DustSnipe at them.

In retaliation, Ray equips his own ShotSnipe, carefully aiming (an impressive feat while standing and looking up) and getting a solid hit on the snipers collarbone. He flinches at the pained noise the sniper makes, the beanie sliding off totally (his tail had already untucked itself) leaving his ears completely exposed. Ray's eyes widen when he see's that another Falconer just takes her comrades place; the girl just calmly aims the same way her fallen comrade had. Ray barely has enough sense to lunge to the side as he feels a bullet whiz past his ear.

"Don't just stand there you idiots!" Geoff shouts at them, having gotten halfway down the road before realizing that they weren't following. Ray snaps out of his minor shock and begins shuffling backwards, keeping a close eye on the sniper as Gavin and Michael hurry past him.

"Get the Faunus! They are who J has been after for years!" A voice shouts, and it seems as if suddenly the streets are flooded with Falconers.

"Shit shit shit, fucking Swiss cheese, Gavin get into the air right now, get out of here," Michael hisses, pushing the bird faunus away while simultaneously running after Geoff.

Gavin stares at him with a horrified expression. "N-no way Michael! You can't actually expect me to do that!" He protests, slipping the trench coat off his shoulders to let his wings free from the awkward confinement.

"Do it Gavin! They're after you more than they are us!" Michael retorts, grimacing as he wrestles his sword from the secure place on his belt. Ray is just behind the two of them, shooting down the few Falconers that are getting too close. It just seems that more are constantly taking their place though.

However after they almost get to the alley that will lead them to Joel's, Ray yelps one of his legs twisting under him, arms coming up and trying to cover his face from the explosion of Dust causing him to drop his gun in the process.

"Ray!" Gavin cries out, pushing Michael ahead of him and running back to help the cat faunus to his feet. Ray winces as he pulls away from Gavin's hold, scrambling to grab his gun before once again crying out as a Falconer steps purposefully steps on his arm, most likely in another attempt to get the skilled gunman to drop his weapon. Gavin is quick to kick the man in the head and push him off of Ray so that the two of them could catch up to their three friends ahead of them. Gavin realizes quickly that Ray can't run because one of the bastards had shot his leg.

"Come on come on," Gavin mutters angrily, making Ray lean on his shoulder as they try to get a distance away from the Falconers. Three blurs suddenly run past them, and Gavin looks back to see that Jack, Geoff, and Michael are still ahead of them, although now they're ushering them hurriedly towards an alley. So some other people must've run past them. Gavin spares a glance to see that their helpers are having a difficult time keeping the Falconers at bay. What few manage to get past them though, Ray quickly hits down with his ShotSnipe.

"Ray I'm going to fly you alright?" Gavin asks quickly, not waiting for Ray to answer as he picks the cat Faunus up bridal style and pushes off as hard as he can from the ground to get the most minimal amount of air to begin coasting. It only takes a few seconds for him to get to where the other three are waiting. Michael is holding Geoff's pistol, and Geoff has his shotgun aimed carefully towards the Falconers legs, and it's only know that Gavin and Ray realize that they'd been assisting them from back here.

"New plan we can't lead all these guys to Joel's, he's got other faunus there and these guys look like they'll take anyone they'll get along with you three so we have to get somewhere to hide until these bastards clear out," Geoff says hurriedly, glancing over Gavin's shoulder over and over.

"We need to take the high ground then!" Gavin exclaims, setting Ray carefully down so that he can lean against Jack. The hawk faunus cranes his neck to scout out a good place, then pointing to a tall building only a block away.

"There's perfect, I'll fly Ray and Michael up there, and if you guys aren't up there by that time I'll get you two up as well."

Michael opens his mouth to protest, but is cut off by Geoff, "No time for a new plan, it'll do, hurry Gavin, we'll meet you there." Gavin nods and picks up Ray again, this time taking a few running steps to get higher into the air. It's a lot more work this time because there are no good air currents in this City, so essentially it's like he's hovering in one place but working twice as hard to stay there. However even despite that he's able to leave Ray crouched on the rooftop within a few minutes and he's flying back down to where he now see's the other three making their way over.He ignores the aching beginning to grow from the base of his wings as he spots Michael quickly.

The first dust container barely grazes him as he swoops down to grab Michael; the monkey faunus already expecting it but still shouts in pain since the movement jostles where he'd been shot in the shoulder. The second one nearly exploded on his leg if Michael hadn't had batted it away, but the third one is a clean hit to his lower back as he's still a few feet above the rooftop. Despite Gavin's effort not to, Michael falls from his arms and onto the top of the building with a pained yell.

Gavin only grits his teeth against the searing pain from both the glass shards and the mixture of dust to start and get Geoff and Jack, before he see's that the two of them are making their way up the fire escape ladder, disabling it as they go so that they can't be followed. However when he looks further, he see's that the three helpful blurs are now at a standstill against a group of what seems to be the even more elite of the Falconers while the 'lesser' Falconers pursue the three of them. Ray is quick to snipe the few still hot on Geoff and Jacks heels, but none of them expect when they start getting hit from above.

Ray is the first to twist around at a low buzzing sound, but for it he's kicked harshly in the face, the attacker going straight for his chin. The Falconer with what seems to be a jetpack then aims a gun at Ray's shoulder, only to be shot down by Gavin, who's now holding one of the pistols to Ray's ShotSnipe.

"Thanks Gav," Ray says, twisting around painfully to continue sniping with his shotgun/sniper component pistol. The Falconers finally seem to be dwindling in number, and the cat faunus believes that they might be able to sneak away from the skirmish, but that's when Michael begins screaming.

 

* * *

 AN:

Don't really wanna end it there, then again I do because this is a pretty decent length chapter (I believe?) and I literally have the rest of it typed up so I'll probably just post the next chapter later tonight (because man oh man things are gettin' interestin')

Many guesses last chapter (by many I mean four) but you will find out soon my friends!

Once again I hope this isn't a shitty and confusing chapter (you can always ask me to clarify if you don't understand what I typed, cause I'll admit that sometimes I don't even know).

Until the next update!


	6. What the Hell is With These Guys

The monkey faunus attempts to kick away the attacker, although it's pretty hard to do with his own blade buried into his arm. The Falconers with jetpacks are now swarming them, the dwindling numbers on the ground making sense as they now hover in the air.  
  
"We need them alive!" One of them barks angrily, the voice answered with hurried words of understanding.  
  
Michael screams again as the Falconer now removes the blade, tossing it across the roof and letting it skitter towards the edge.  
  
"Get the fuck away from him!" Gavin shouts, kicking the offending Falconer literally off the roof and grabbing the gun he dropped as a result. Ray no longer focuses on the ones on the ground as he now has to snipe them out of the sky.  It's easy to take out their jetpacks he finds, but that then just leaves them to drop onto the roof and attack them from there.  
  
Geoff and Jack help out the best that they can, but the Falconers all manage to corner them near the edge of the roof and it's all they can do to keep from getting pushed off.  
  
"Bloody hell just fuck off!" Gavin growls, resorting to kicking the falconers in the face again once the gun runs out of bullets, there's that many of them. He can't risk opening his wings either, they had already taken a few swings at them and that's the last thing he'd want. He has noticed though that Michael was right, more of them seemed intent to capture him than Ray or Michael. The monkey faunus was only getting the worst of it because he was fighting back the most.  
  
Ray glances at his bullet supply and hisses in frustration, seeing that it's getting low. He retracts the two guns back into each other and slides it into his holster. He ignores the pain slicig through his leg the best that he can so that he can tackle the nearest Falconer, quickly wrestling the gun from her hands and knocking her unconscious.  
  
Despite how deadly they might seem, all of them try to avoid making killing blows if at all possible.  
  
Michael tries his best to fight away the Falconers that now seem to be mainly focusing on him, but he quickly finds himself with a blade against his throat and his arms pinned behind his back. Spots are flashing in front of his eyes and he is fighting desperately against unconsciousness that is now threatening in waves. Pain flows through him from both his stabbed arm and shot shoulder, and now the blade that has broken the skin on his throat.  
  
He breathes hard, keeping his tail curled tight around his middle so that they can't hurt it in any way as he searches for an opening to escape through. A voice breaks through his thoughts and he focuses a glare on the female Falconer standing before him.  
  
"Call the hovercraft, we've got one and the other two will be close behind."  
  
"Like hell they will," Michael hisses, kicking out blindly and feeling successful when it connects with something solid. Almost immediately he gets a punch to the face, leaving him practically lying down from the force of the blow.  
  
"Hey get the hell away from him!" Ray shouts, but is unable to get any further than a few feet before his path is once again blocked. He quickly realizes his mistake though as now he's surrounded by the Falconers and one comes up behind him, kicking his bad leg and holding a knife to his throat. A muffled yell is the only thing he lets past his lips as he kneels with his back arched at an unnatural angle to keep the blade from his throat. As if doing that wasn't bad enough, one of them step on his tail, definitely keeping him from moving.  
  
"Get them to the edge of the roof, a hovercraft is en route," One of them calls out, sounding like the female that'd called the hovercraft in the first place.  
  
Michael is already near enough to the edge that they don't even bother moving him, Ray however is on the other side of the roof, and before he can get begin to get moved, he feels something slam hard into his back.  
  
Gavin tucks his wings close to his body as he rolls a bit further away from Ray, quickly getting up in case the dive bomb hadn't worked. It obviously had though, since Ray is standing (albeit unsteadily) and shooting at the Falconers nearest to him. All of them are too startled by Gavin's sudden attack to move.   
  
Before Gavin can celebrate for helping Ray however, he feels the Falconers behind him grab at his arms in an attempt to restrain him. They don't dare touch his wings now though, because at the moment they are splayed to their full length and refuse to remain still. He manages to toss a few of them away before he looks up to see Michael struggling.  
  
Michael curses loudly as he's dragged to his feet, unable to fight against the arms restraining him because of his injuries, but he tries anyway by kicking out with is legs, even wrapping his tail around arms and legs if he can reach them.  
  
Everyone pauses though as the low hum of a hovercraft practically vibrates the air around them.  
  
The Falconers give a small cheer, but Gavin and Ray's eyes widen as they realize that there's no way Michael can get away from them at the moment, no matter how much he's struggling.  
  
"Ray!" Gavin looks over at the cat, seeing that he'd already realized the same thing.  
  
"Do it!" Is all Ray shouts, already knowing what Gavin is planning to do. The cat faunus has already realized that there's no way that Gavin can save Michael though. Michael seems to remember that they're there as well, and he glances back to see Gavin knocking the Falconers away from him so that he has room to start running.

"GAVIN DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" Michael shouts, his hoarse voice somehow managing to carry . Michael attempts to writhe away once more from the arms pinning his own arms from moving. He's only able to take a few steps away before he feels another blade being held to his throat.

However he can see Gavin hesitate, now unsure if he should try to help Michael or not. That hesitation is gone as he notices something behind Michael, springing forward through the path he created, only to be tackled seconds later with his wings pinned painfully underneath him.

"No Michael!" He yells desperately as the Falconers drag the unwilling faunus into the hovercraft, which Gavin can only watch open mouthed with shock. He manages to toss off whoever's restraining him once more, although this time he feels a shock of pain through his entire back to the edges of his wings. He ignores it as he forces himself a few feet into the air, above the Falconers, in an attempt to get to Michael in time.

He feels one of them grab his ankle, forcing him back down onto solid ground, but he doesn't let that deter him as he gets closer to Michael. He watches his vision hyper-focus on Michael's terrified expression, ignoring the hands grabbing at his arms and unfurled wings. Even with his faster than human speed, he knows the moment Michael is lost to him.

He just doesn't want to believe it.

* * *

AN:

I honestly was going to post this chapter a day after the last one but I managed to catch a godawful cold, in thE MIDDLE OF SUMMER! How even.

But here's this one! The next chapter is also typed up, whether or not I'll manage to get it posted is a different story.

Thank you for those who have commented on the story and such, even if it's just a prediction on what will happen I always like to read them :)

Hope you guys like this chapter as well!

(This one is a bit shorter, it's only because the next chapter is pretty long)

Until the next upload


	7. We Messed Up Didn't We

Gavin stands there for a few seconds as he watches the hovercar speed away before he realizes that they are still in the midst of a battle. The three people that had assisted them on the ground had at some point made their way up to the top of their building and are now fighting so that there are next to no Falconers left.  
  
With clouded judgement, Gavin leaps from the top of the building, ignoring Rays shout of protest at the action and snaps his wings out seconds before flying into the building in front of him. The hovercraft is merely a spec in front of him, but he just grits his teeth as he forces himself to fly faster.  
  
Only when he hears more hovercrafts approaching does he begin to fall back, taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the dust now being shot at him. The hovercraft containing Michael is now lost amongst all of the others that had managed to surround him. Fear begins to fill him when he realizes that he is in fact surrounded.  
  
Desperate times call for desperate measures.  
  
He hates doing this only because of how much hurts, and with how much he's wounded, he knows it'll hurt even more. Even so he doesn't give indication before tucking his wings close to his body, and dropping like a stone towards the earth far below.  
  
The shouts of Falconers above him are ripped past his ears as he falls forcefully towards the ground, eyes widening when he see's that he's over a forest, not the city. His wings snap back open of their own accord and he hisses at the pain that spreads through his shoulders as he levels out, still going at a pace too fast to be safe.  
  
"Fuck," He says as he twists around to avoid a branch, the sound is ripped away from his lips and he realizes that he either has to speed up or start walking if he wants to get to the city before his wings give out altogether.  
  
The ache has spread from his shoulders to his arms and through his entire back. He knows it's only because he's been flying too fast and for too long but it's still extremely painful. The last time he had to fly like this, he was unable to move for a few days. That was right after they'd all started running.  
  
He's purposefully ignoring the fact that he couldn't get Michael back as he speeds up, seeing the city's skyline close on the horizon, forcing himself to go faster still.  
  
He'd forgotten where they even were, but it's pretty easy to spot considering the commotion they'd caused.  
  
In order for him not to completely kill his back, he has to start circling around the building from a higher altitude, slowing down gradually enough that he won't hurt himself by accident. From that angle though he can see that there is only one person sitting amongst all of the blood smears and bullet casings.  
  
When he's still quite a ways above the rooftop, he pulls his wings in sharply and tumbles onto the roof, not even making an effort for the landing to be graceful. He lays there for a few seconds, his wings crumpled painfully underneath this limp body, but he only moves when Ray rolls him over with the most worried expression he'd seen on the man in awhile.

"Gavin...you fucking idiot," Ray hisses, tears pricking the edge of his vision as he gingerly makes the man sit up before wrapping him in a tight hold, expertly avoiding his wings. Gavin doesn't return the gesture until a few seconds later, but when he does he buries his face into Ray's shoulder, trying to keep himself from crying.

"I know man, I know," Ray murmurs, gripping handfuls of Gavin's shirt as the man shudders in his arms. Ray can feel the various scrapes and cuts engraved in Gavin's skin from the scuffle, and he winces in sympathy, he hadn't bothered to attempt to treat his own injuries. He had yelled at Geoff and Jack to leave him alone on the roof until Gavin came back, refusing every suggestion they offered.

They couldn't understand after all, the three of them had avoided capture for so long, but the moment they accept help Michael is taken away. Hard to trust someone after experiencing something like that.

Currently the two of them should be chilling by the fire escape, talking to the three people that had ran to their assistance, as he and Gavin are hugging it out. He could give less than a shit right now, they didn't help even as Michael was...Michael...

"We'll get him Gav, don't worry," He promises fiercely, his tail whipping harshly from side to side; his ears pricking at small noises. Ray can feel Gavin take a sharp, shuddering breath before nodding into his shoulder. The bird man pulls away and rubs at his face, smearing small traces of blood around.

 

"I know Ray..." is all he can manage to say, before hesitantly hoisting himself to his feet, wincing as he tries to fold his wings against his back. Ray watches him carefully as Gavin opts for letting his wings listlessly tremble at the attempt to keep themselves off the ground, a difficult feat seeing how they were longer and taller than he was. 

"Geoff says...Geoff says he's got a safe place we can go, stay with an old friend of his," Ray begins quietly, having to restart his sentence when his voice gives out. Gavin nods wordlessly, rubbing at his face once more and gesturing for Ray to lead the way. Although, Ray has to lean against Gavin since he can barely walk on his leg.

The two of them don't say anything as they walk into the Gents having a heated discussion with the three strangers. They stop abruptly, but immediately look concerned as they take in the sore sight of Ray and Gavin.

"Hey uh, we're going to head to Joel's now, I'm not sure if he's expecting us yet but it'll be fine," Geoff says hesitantly as he stands. Gavin and Ray continue to stay silent, simply nodding.

"Miles, Kara, and Chris are going to make sure we get back to Joel's without any more encounters as well, they've also contacted a few others to make sure we'll be ok," Jack also explains, talking quietly.

"Fine," Ray says sharply in response, laying his ears flat against his head as he watches the three strangers, now with names, flinch away before turning around and flashing away from them without saying a word.

* * *

The two Lads zone out as they follow the Gents through the city, using only poorly populated streets or alleyways of course. The group avoids eye contact with anyone they do happen to see, and they know that they must seem suspicious due to their beat up appearances, but none one bothers them, although Ray does notice a few watching carefully behind them, as if to check if they're being followed.

Guess there are some people that would actually help out Faunus.

As the afternoon sun is beginning to sink into evening, Geoff stops abruptly in front of a rather discrete building, nestled between two larger ones. Geoff stands up a bit taller, trying to cover up his (albeit few) wounds and puts on a neutral face as he strides inside, the others following.

The lobby to, the hotel as it seems, is empty, but Geoff only waits a few seconds before someone saunters out from a hallway.

"Hello there how can I help yo-" the man stops his monotone introduction and his eyes widen, mouth falling open. "Geoff! Holy shit I wasn't expecting you yet."

Geoff seems to relax, smirking slightly as the man walks up to him and claps him on the shoulder. "Nice to see you too Joel, although I wish it as on better circumstances." Joel scans their group, obviously taking note of their various injuries.

"You've mostly informed me of the situation, did Kara, Miles, and Chris get to you guys in time? They haven't told me anything," Joel asks, gesturing for them to follow as he walks into the hallway he had emerged from.

"Yeah, thanks alot for that by the way, we wouldn't have lasted more than five minutes without them," Jack comments, almost sounding sheepish.

"Good, I had a feeling they'd help." Joel smiles back at them as he stops in front of a bare wall.

"Contrast, open." The wall splits to reveal a hidden doorway, which he unlocks with an old fashioned key to lock, not the popular keycards. It opens to reveal a section that looks identical to the original hotel with a wider set of doors.

"This is where I hide my Faunus, you'll have a key to Contrast in your rooms, the windows are bulletproof and everything-else proof so don't worry about that. There'll be first aid kits under the sinks in each of your rooms," Joel lists off as he hands Geoff two keycards.

 

"Jesus dicks dude, thanks," Geoff says incredulously, grinning at Joel, immediately grimacing afterword because of his bruised jaw, the two of them hadn't gotten off injury-free after all.

"No problem, there's phones in each of the rooms that can connect to my cell if you need something, the two rooms you guys have are adjoining, although you can clearly tell which one will be for Gavin and Ray, there's a kitchen fully stocked as well in each of your rooms."

Joel gives Ray a close glance, his eyes hovering briefly on the mans ears before turning and beginning to walk back the way he came.

"There's three other faunus here, not including Kara, Chris, and Miles, they won't bother you so don't worry, don't get lost and make sure to tell me when you guys leave," he tosses over his shoulder with a small wave.

  
Ray watches his back for a few seconds before Gavin nudges his shoulder to catch his attention. The two of them follow Geoff to the rooms that are apparently theirs, both of them limping heavily.  
  
"Here's your keycard by the way," Geoff comments, handing it to Ray as they walk into what is obviously the more Faunus adjusted room. Everything is either set to the sides of the room or into the wall, which makes Gavin sigh in relief since he doesn't have to worry about knocking anything off the walls.  
  
"We'll catch up after we get fixed up alright? We'll make a plan then," Geoff says firmly, putting a reassuring hand on Gavin's shoulder.  
  
Gavin just nods in response and helps Ray to a point where he can lean against the wall.  
  
Geoff glances sideways at Jack, "Think we fucked up?" He asks quietly once they get into their room.  
  
Jack nods, "Oh yeah, big time."

* * *

AN:

Wasn't planning to update again but I don't know if I'll be able to get on for a few days so why the heckie not. (I mean this chapter is pretty short, which I'm sorry for but I mean two updates in one day makes up for it right?)

Plus what I keep doing is I type up most of the next chapter before stopping and posting what I have so I still have a lot done for the next chapter.

Obvious ship is obvious btw.

Tell me your feelings on what's happening so far, I'm eager to hear them.

Until next upload!


	8. Holy Shit No Really?

Gavin hisses as Ray tightens the bandage around his lower back, glaring at the cat man as Ray winces in pity. 

"Sorry dude," He offers as he pins the fabric so that it won't move, "I think that that's all I can do though, I can tell that your back and shoulders are really close to being majorly fucked up though, you won't be flying for a bit, I can tell you that much. " Ray carefully turns Gavin around to scan to see if he'd missed an errant shards of glass or terribly deep cuts.

"I think you're alright though, now anyway," He nods and turns to look at his own injuries. The bullet was easy to get out of his leg, but he had to ask Gavin to help him dig out the few shards of glass from the Dust. That was the worst for him, other than the cuts and scratches he'd gotten on his arms and face from the dust containers. The worst thing about the dust was that the containers were made of glass, so not only did you have to worry about whatever concoction of dust it is, you have to try to avoid the explosion of glass as well. He tries not to growl as Gavin puts the antiseptic over the glass cuts, and the bird man only tries not to smile at the muffled sound. Ray can unsteadily stand once his leg is tightly wrapped, and he walks over to look at how badly his face was cut up.

The worst stretched across his nose to one side of his face, the more minor ones were shallow and littered across his cheeks and forehead. He lies his ears down flat as he swipes antiseptic over the still-bleeding cuts and putting bandages on them. 

"Did your wings get cut or anything?" Ray questions as he's beginning to clean up all the bloodied cloths and cotton utensils from where they'd been scattered.

Gavin shakes his head, helping Ray clean a bit, "Nah, the dust that got my lower back singed a few of those feathers, but other than that they just pulled out a few when they were holding me back, what about your ears and tail?" He asks, glancing at Ray.

"The only time they got my tail was when that one dickweed stepped on it to keep me from moving, my ears are surprisingly fine, just aching from all the loud noises," Ray shrugs, packing up what little first aid items they had left. He limps out into the bedroom area and sits on the smaller bed. Gavin follows a few seconds later, leaving his shirt off since it was ripped to shreds in the back and he wanted to get it repaired since it was the one he'd gotten from Griffon. 

"Dude now we need new clothes," Ray grumbles, picking at the frayed edges to his jeans. One side had been cut to his knee since he'd been shot on his shin but the other was still it's regular length.

Gavin makes a sound of agreement as he explores the room, first walking over to the dresser. He slides open a drawer and lifts out a nondescript green shirt. There are slits premade in the back of it and he glances at Ray in confusion.

"Check the dresser on your side, this one's got clothes for a bird hybrid," Gavin says, sliding the shirts carefully over his head and shoulders, pushing his wings through the slits before letting the fabric fall to rest low on his hips.

Ray watches Gavin carefully before walking over to the small dresser pressed against the wall on his side, opening on of the lower drawers and finding some more jeans folded.  
  
"Dude did he know we were coming or something?" Ray questions as he changes, finding that there was a place for his tail to fit through since the jeans were higher waisted. 

"Well he did say to Geoff that he wasn't expecting us yet, so I wouldn't doubt it," Gavin replies, opening the rest of the drawers to see that there's enough clothes to last them a few days if they stay that long.

"Hey Gav," Ray asks quietly, holding a shirt thoughtfully in his hands.

"Yeah?" Gavin questions, sitting back down on the bed and beginning to carefully spread out his wings, trying to see which feathers were the most damaged.

"Think it's weird that there's only two beds? Like if Joel knew we were coming then he knows that Michael should be with us as well, shouldn't there be at least one more bed or another connecting room?"

Gavin pauses the action of threading his fingers through his feathers, looking up at Ray with realization shining on his face.  
  
"There's no way he could know that one of us would be taken...right?" Ray continues, thoughts whirring through his head. Gavin stands up suddenly, folding his wings against his back again.  
  
"One of the Falconers...didn't they say something? Something like, 'They are who J has been after for years'..." Gavin says, eyes widening," You don't think...J could stand for Joel?"

Ray shakes his head, "We can't know for sure but how would Joel know that Michael wouldn't be here if he was the one trying to capture us in the first place."

Gavin runs a hand through his hair, "We can't stay here Ray, especially if Joel is the one who's been after us for so long."

Ray frowns, "We have no choice, you can't fly and I can't run, we wouldn't even make it out of the city."

"Well we can't just sit here and wait to be caught!" Gavin shouts, trying to still his wings as they move in agitation.

"There's nothing else we can do! Tough it out!" Ray yells back, standing abruptly. He glares at Gavin as he slams the bedroom door shut behind him as he walks into the kitchen. He has to hold tightly onto the counter as his leg gives out beneath him, standing so suddenly wasn't a good idea, that's for sure.

"Dammit, he knows I don't want to stay here any more than he does," Ray hisses under his breath, frustration making tears prick on the edge of his eyes.

* * *

 

Geoff and Jack sit in their bedroom, trying to figure out a plan of action.

 "We need to figure out where the Falconers would take him, probably to whoever was sending them," Geoff begins, looking at a map of the city and a majority of it's outskirts.

"The hovercraft flew this way, most likely to the Rich sector..." Jack trails off, tracing the path with his finger.

"Now would be the time to get in touch because he's right fucking there!" Geoff growls, jabbing his finger at a specific spot.

"Did you ask Joel if he's had contact with him?"

Geoff sighs, "No, the bastard walked away before I could ask anything, almost seemed like he was in a hurry to get somewhere."

"Joel, going somewhere? That would be new," Jack agrees, frowning at the same time.

"I'll ask him after trying one more time," Geoff decides, digging a communicator out of his pocket. The light blinks red a few times before blinking green, signalling that the other communicator is online.

"Holy shit," Geoff scrambles to get the communicator online and seeing the screen ripple before clearing to an image.

"Ryan? Dude are you actually there?" Geoff asks, trying to see past the gloom and cracks in the screen. A garbled audio file plays before transcribing itself.

"Yeah I'm here, I've been trying to contact you or Burnie for months now, what the hell is up?"

"Dude," Geoff laughs, "The communicator on your end never went online or some shit, anyway I don't have the time for idle chat, have there been any hovercars or Faunus shipments lately?"

Only static answers before Ryan's voice comes through, although more garbled than before, "Uh yeah just last night actually, I heard it pass overhead. There's an auction today I was planning on going to, you guys just caught me actually."

"Ryan I swear you're an amazing bastard, listen at that auction I want you to look for a monkey, his name's Michael, he has reddish auburn hair so he's difficult to miss, if he's there, do whatever you can to get ahold of him alright?"

The light flickers a few times before going red, flashing back to green only for them to hear Ryan say, "Alright I'll look, I think you're fadin-" before static stops the image from coming through.

"Holy shit," Jack says, wide eyed.

"Dammit! What the hell's up with these things," Geoff growls, smacking the device off the bed and grumbling.

"Should we tell the other two that Ryan's going to be looking for Michael?" Jack asks, standing and stretching. Geoff sighs and nods.

"Hopefully they haven't run away or anything."  
  
Jack glances over at him, "Think they would?"

Geoff frowns, "If they could yes, but I'm pretty sure Gavin won't be flying for awhile, and Ray can't run very well with his leg like that, we should probably get Joel to get some healing stuff, whatever it's called."

The walk through the kitchen to the connecting door, opening it to see Ray glaring at the wall.

"Hey Ray, where's Gavin?" Geoff asks, keeping his voice neutral. Ray glances up at them, a small glare settling on his face.

"In there, he's being a dick to me though, so he'll definitely be a dick to you guys," Ray stands up straight, applying the smallest amount of pressure possible on his bad leg.

"Well we have good news so go get him," Geoff frowns as Ray huffs and limps to the door.

"Gavin get your feathery ass out here," Ray shouts, opening the door and leaving it as Gavin squawks about 'not being such a mingy git' and standing in the doorway.

"What?" He asks seethingly, not disguising his glare like Ray had.

"A friend of ours is going to find Michael, probably tonight," Geoff says, without giving any other warning. The glare melts off Gavin's face and he stares in shock.

"Seriously?" Ray questions, more wary to see if it;s true, but not being able to hide the hope shining in his eyes.

"Yeah, he said that there's was a new shipment of Faunus that came in last night, he heard the hovercars, and he offered to go to the auction today to look for him," Jack tells them, watching their reactions carefully.

"Is this friend Joel?" Ray asks out of the blue, eyes narrowing.

"No, someone else, he lives out in the Rich sector, we were going to take you guys to him originally, but we could never get into contact."

"So...are we going to go see him?" Gavin asks, not as suspicious after finding out that the man isn't Joel.

"We'll have to wait to see if he answers back to say he has Michael, we unfortunately can't barge in on him like we can with Joel."

"Dude you better not be lying to us," Ray crosses his arms and gives both a look.

Geoff raises his arms above his head, "I swear it's true, if the communicator hadn't had died I would've let you guys talk to him yourself."

"Alright, tell us the moment you find out then."

It sounds like a 'get the fuck out' so the Gents nod and comply, walking into their kitchen and shutting the connecting door.

"Ryan better fucking find him."

* * *

AN:

Wow my chapters have gotten shorter lately, sorry about that! I most of the time write these in one sitting so to me they feel long but really aren't. 

The mystery man has be revealed! Yes it was Ryan

This chapter's kinda weird and I can't figure out why...probably because I was working on a different story before this one. Oh well.

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter though.

Until the next upload!


	9. Something's Really Not Right

 

 

Michael can feel approximately three guns pressed to his back and one knife being held to his throat as the hovercraft pulls away from the building. He can only watch as Gavin stares from the edge of the building. He's almost glad the bastards took him instead of Gavin, but he begins cursing under his breath as he watches Gavin jump off the building, beginning to follow the hovercraft.

"No you idiot!" Michael pleads, as if Gavin could hear him, "Don't be so fucking stupid!.

"Hey shut the fuck up," One of the guns remove from his back and connects with the back of his head. Michael slumps forward and the one with the knife slides the blade into it's holder and props the monkey faunus up.

"Jeez we need him alive, J's already not going to be happy that he got shot, and stabbed like twice," The falconer turns to look at the one that pistol whipped him. She just shrugs.

"Not like we can't heal him, he would've kept talking if I hadn't done that, and hey, now he's easier to transport."

* * *

When Michael wakes up, the first thing he registers is that he's blindfolded. The second thing is that the floor is quite obviously metal and is really uncomfortable. His hands are still free, so he just reaches up and slips off the blindfold, eyes easily adjusting to the dim lights. Bars materialize in front of him and he glances around, confused as to why and then realizing.

They'd put him in a cage.

 

_Like some fucking animal._

Anger begins coursing through him and he feels his tail curl tightly around his middle. Outside his cage he can see that there are other cages nearby, each one seemingly occupied by someone. None of the cages are close enough for the faunus to reach out and touch so they couldn't touch each other.

"What the fuck!" He yells , clenching his fists and staring at the person standing in front of his cage, quite obviously a guard. The guard doesn't even turn to look at him.

"Hey tell me why the fuck I've been put in a fucking cage!" Michael stands, unsteadily walking over to the bars. The guard turns this time, an almost apologetic look on his face but doesn't say anything.

Michael opens his mouth to start yelling again but gets cut off by a door slamming open.

"Oh he's awake! That's what the commotion was all about," A voice calls, sounding faintly familiar somehow.

Another man now stands outside of his cage, gazing at him.

"Oh yes, you'll fetch quite the lot, I do wish we'd gotten the hawk, he would've made me such a fortune, well, even the cat would've made me a fortune, but I'll make due with the monkey," A giggle escapes the man as he watches Michael get progressively more angry.

"You're the fucker that's been chasing us for-fucking-ever aren't you!" He reaches through the bars and grabs ahold of the man's shirt, gripping the cloth tight enough to begin tearing it.

"J!" The guard realizes he should probably help out and turns, slamming the heel of his hand into Michael's shoulder, making the monkey faunus grunt and jerk back, feeling the place where he'd been shot begin aching.

"Thank you Caleb, you won't have to watch him for long so don't worry." J pats the guards shoulder and gives Michael a teasing wave before walking away, letting the door to this hell slam close once again.

* * *

Michael had realized that they must've healed him because all that's left of the gunshot in his shoulder and where he'd been stabbed in the arm are some faint scars.  

He'd already calculated that there are twelve of them in here currently, and that there are three empty cages. Beside him on one side is a wolf faunus, grey speckled ears flicking at every slight sound. Every so often Michael caught gazes with the man and they just sort of stared at each other before looking away. On his other side was a cat faunus, like Ray except she has blonde fur.

 

Behind him is what seems to be a mouse faunus, but the man keeps his back to Michael so he can't really tell. And in front of Michael is a bird faunus ,although this one's wings are significantly more brightly coloured than Gavin's. She looks at him every so often, like the wolf faunus, with a level gaze, seeming to know his story.

After a few hours the door opens and J walks back in, ordering a few Falconers each to go to the cages and grab the respective Faunus's. Michael isn't even given any time to struggle as he's pinned to the ground and drugged.

* * *

 "Here folks is a lovely wolf faunus, he goes by the name of Dan although you can name him whatever you like once you get ahold of him, he's a very hard worker so unless if you're in desperate need of parts I would keep him as one, we'll start the bidding then at twenty four thousand!"

Michael can feel this time that his hands are bound, and he's blindfolded again. Just by listening he can tell that he's in another cage, but the front is open. It seems like they're at an auction. He assumes that Dan is the wolf faunus that was next to him.

He listens to the prices rise until they stop and the one calling out numbers, sounding like J, stops with a gleeful tone in his voice.

"Sold! My my you're not holding back tonight Mr. Haywood."

Michael's heartbeat increases upon hearing the name, he's definitely doomed if that's who he thinks it is.

"Now folks, we have our second to last faunus of the night, the last one being a real treat I assure you. This one we got just yesterday, we've been after him for years, mostly for his lovely colour of fur."

Michael feels arms pull him upright and he just allows them to do so, not knowing whether or not he'll be able to escape at this rate. J is still describing him.

"This Monkey faunus goes by Michael, truly a lovely name don't you think? He has friends as well, his value is quite high simply because of that. He has the most beautifully angry eyes folks, I'm sure you're eager to see."

At this he can feel the blindfold being removed, and he's practically blinded by the light before he looks out into the audience, hearing a few 'ooh's' and 'ahh's' as he glares out at them. He wants to curl his tail around his torso but he knows that he can't, so he just grit his teeth and tries to keep it from their view.

"What do you say folks? Starting at a solid forty thousand? I assure you it's well worth it."

"Forty two thousand!" A man calls out, and Michael tries to discern who it was.

"Forty Four," Another cuts in.

"Fifty thousand."

The numbers increase, the same three battling it out until there are only two. A man standing near the back, arms crossed in determination, and a lady sitting near the middle of the crowd, a scowl on her face that deepens every time the man replies with a higher number.

After what seems like forever the lady stops, lips pressed together in anger as the man calls out one last number.

"Sold once more to Ryan Haywood! Creating quite the collection tonight aren't you," J giggles and motions for Michael to be taken away.

Michael stands there open mouthed, fingernails digging into his palms as he clenches his fists. He shuts his eyes tightly and allows himself to be dragged backstage, where he's once again drugged. He can faintly see Dan sitting against the wall before his vision completely fades.

* * *

Michael wakes up this time expecting to be held in a dungeon or basement, but he certainly didn't expect to wake up on a bed. He sits up quickly and looks around, seeing that it's early morning, and he's in some sort of bedroom. At first glance the room is empty, but when he looks over he sees that there's someone sitting in the chair next to your bed.

"Good, you're awake."

Michael scrambles off the bed, falling on the ground with a muffled thud and scrambling to his feet, reaching for his sword. He'd momentarily forgotten that he'd lost it on the roof, hopefully Ray or Gavin grabbed it.

Ryan sighs as he stands, "Why does every faunus I save react like that?"

"Maybe because you keep them in your basement and sell off their body parts once you get tired of playing with them," Michael answers back warily, still not moving out of his defensive position, watching Ryan carefully.

"Really, is that what they're saying about me? Man, all I do is buy faunus so that I can save them and everyone says that I kill them for sport." Ryan scowls, standing still when he realizes that moving won't make Michael trust him any more.

Michael lowers his arms, watching Ryan still but not as wary. It didn't feel like the man was going to kill him or anything.

"You mean, you spend all that money just to save us? How do you even keep up with it?" Michael moves to sit on the bed, seeing now that there was no way Ryan would hurt him.

Ryan shrugs, "I have ways, and I save you guys because selling off faunus is fucking disgusting. I was only able to save six out of the twelve last night though, J's a sick bastard and purposely sold them to people before I could even start bidding."

"Who all did you save yesterday?" Michael asks, feeling curious.

"Two cats, Adam and Barbara, A wolf, Dan, you probably heard him, a mouse named Kerry, a dog named Arron, you, then parrot that was after you. I was glad to have gotten her, she would've been killed for sure."

Michael can feel something similar to relief fill him, "Good, what about the other six though?"

  
Ryan shakes his head, "No telling, the only one in real danger was probably the lizard, I was so angry at J, most of the time he's fine with me bidding because I pay so much but last night...something was up." 

Michael frowns, thinking what was up was the fact that he was there. He needs to get back to the others, since Ryan doesn't want to keep him or anything.

"Hey Ryan, how close are we to the city?" Michael tries to see out the window but it seems like once you get past the lawn the treeline blocks view from everything else.

"Oh shit yeah you have friends in the city! Staying in a dangerous place but they're there, I need to contact Geoff." Ryan stands quickly and walks out of the door, leaving Michael to follow.

Michael quickly follows Ryan into what seems to be an office, the guy lived in a freaking mansion. The guy must seriously be rich if he could afford this.

Sitting on the desk is what Michael can tell is a communicator, and he can faintly remember Geoff having one as well.

"Please work," Ryan mutters as he powers on a computer, hooking the communicator up to it so that the screen is larger. The light flickers as if taunting them before turning green.

"Geoff if you don't pick up I'll be pissed off," Ryan says falsely cheery, drumming his fingers impatiently on the desk. An image crosses the screen and Michael can faintly make out Geoff and Jack, maybe Ray before it fades into static. Audio begins to play through though, and Michael smiles as he recognizes Ray yelling in the background.

"RYAN YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD!" Geoff's voice clarifies, and Michael feels himself smiling at him.

"MICHAEL YOU"RE OK!" Gavin's voice breaks through and Michael grins even more.

"Yeah boi! I'll see you guys as soon as I can!"

"Geoff you need to come here ok? I saved six other faunus so I can't leave until they all wake up," Ryan says, interrupting their cheers.

"Alright, had a feeling we should leave anyway, can you at least send a hovercar or something? These two won't be able to get far," Geoff asks, referring to Ray and Gavin.

"Are you guys ok?" Michael asks anxiously, realizing he didn't know how badly they were all hurt since he'd been taken before the battle could end.

"Don't worry about us Michael, we're good!" Ray yells, his voice fainter than Geoffs.

"See you in like half an hour," Geoff says, before the connection cuts off suddenly.

"We'll have to fucking fix these because they're not cutting it," Ryan mutters to himself, shutting off everything.

Michael sits back, a thought nagging at the back of his mind, "Hey Ryan, why did you say they were at a dangerous place? Joel's is supposed to be safe isn't it?"

He watches Ryan stiffen, then sigh, "Joel is in cahoots with J, I'm not sure what's going on exactly because he never got to explain it to me. I only allowed it because Joel always tells me when the auctions are and whether or not I need to break anyone out. He didn't tell me about you though, that's kind of strange..." 

Ryan turns around, looking at him closely, "Why didn't he say anything about you...?" A strange expression was on Ryan's face and Michael backs away. The movement seems to snap Ryan out of his thoughts, shaking his head.

"I'll call a hovercar for them now, hopefully they get out in time."

* * *

AN:

See, this chapter would've been posted earlier, but my first draft of it was lost (and believe me, the first draft was much better than this) so I had to rewrite it from scratch and I just hope I didn't mess up too much.

Originally I planned for J to be Joel, however I remembered in a later scene that that situation reeeally wouldn't work out. So uh, now J and Joel are two different people and I was too lazy to change the letter because eh, it's not that big of a deal.

Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter.

Until the next upload!


	10. Files huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I formally apologize for the mini hiatus, school started July 31st for me so I'm now a freshman and because I'm taking multiple honors classes I have large amounts of homework so I also have no time to plan/write/type for any of my stories. From here on out I have no idea when I'll be able to update, for any of my stories. I'm hoping for once a week, however once every two weeks is a more likely assumption.  
> (Also I do realize it's been near two months since I updated I realize I'm a horrible person)

* * *

 

Gavin jumps up and down, grinning, "He's actually safe, Ray we get to see Michael!"

Ray smiles back at Gavin, shaking his head, "Stop jumping like that you idiot!"

Geoff and Jack don't seem as happy as they stand, cutting off the communicator and moving to lock their door. Jack walks over to the window and glances out, seeing that they could jump out and survive if they absolutely needed to.

"If there's anything in the other room that you need go get it, we're getting out of here as soon as we can," Geoff orders them, interrupting their little happy fest.

"Are we in that much of a hurry?" Gavin pauses, looking at Geoff questioningly. 

"With what I figure from what Ryan's confirmed, yes, get your stuff we're getting out," Geoff barks, pocketing the communicator and standing. Ray tilts his head but stands and walks back to their room, grabbing his ShotSnipe and Michael's sword (he'd made sure to grab it before they made their way to Joel's). Gavin folds the shirt he'd gotten from Griffon and holds it for a few seconds before glancing around.

"Not like we brought much with us," He shrugs and walks back to Geoff's and Jack's room, where the two Gents are watching the door carefully.

"What're you guys watching for?" Ray asks, wondering if he should have his ShotSnipe at the ready.

"Joel," Jack says shortly, earning a surprised noise from the two lads.

"Joel? Isn't he your friend?" Gavin asks curiously, frowning.

"Yeah he seemed pretty nice, what's up with him?" Ray asks, feeling almost defensive for the man he doesn't even know.

"We can't explain it here, we'll get out of here first then we'll tell you," Geoff says tersely, opening the door and peering down the hallway before motioning for them to follow him as Geoff unlocks Contrast, the computer remaining silent as they walk through. The two Gents seem to let out a sigh as the hurry to the ground floor, ignoring the questions the two Lads are trying to ask.

Ray gives Gavin a look, the fellow Faunus frowning in agreement as they're lead to just outside of a main street. They wait for a few tense minutes before Gavin and Ray realize what they were actually waiting for as a hovercar drives up.

"Took him quicker than usual, but damn," Geoff grumbles, the driver greeting them as they climb in.

"So what are we doing now?" Gavin asks, carefully tracing the route they were going.

"We're going to Ryan's, who got Michael," Jack replies, both of the Gents seeming more relaxed now that they were out of sight of Joel's building.

"Ryan's huh...as in Ryan Haywood?" Ray muses.

"Yeah that's the one, and before you say anything, he actually helps Faunus not tortures them," Geoff says, shooting Gavin a look as the bird opens his mouth to speak.

"Oh, ok that's good then!" Ray smiles, "So how long to get there again?"

Jack shrugs, glancing out the window, "I'd say about fifteen minutes."

Ray groans and leans back against the seat, "Too long."

* * *

Joel bites his lip nervously as he watches the door to Contrast open, his friends, well, they might not consider him a friend now, escape 'without detection' to the hovercar that will soon be waiting for them outside. He sighs in relief once he's sure they're gone, retreating to his office where he expects a call soon enough.

After waiting for a few minutes, anxiously watching the security camera's throughout the building, his phone begins to ring. He takes a deep breath before answering, clicking a pen as he hears J begin to give orders on the other line.

He pales at the new information, wanting to protest but stopping himself as the other man hangs up. He reluctantly puts the phone back on its cradle, now even more anxious with this new information.

Time to stop the stupid ploy he'd been holding to help Ryan, there was nothing more he could do here.

He gathers up the few things he'll need, including a few weapons as he locks down the building, knowing that it's essentially empty besides his computer and himself. The other Faunus had already been taken to a safer location a few hours ago.

He tosses his keys in the air as he calls his ride, only hoping that the other guys wouldn't kill him on sight when...if he gets to them in time.

* * *

 

Michael is practically bouncing with energy, grinning as he's follows Ryan, who's walking around to check on the other faunus he'd saved.

"You don't have to keep following me you know," Ryan grumbles after Michael as the Monkey faunus walks a bit ahead of him.

"Well I'm afraid Ill get lost in your huge fucking mansion, plus meeting the other faunus sounds more fun than just sitting around and waiting," Michael replies, smirking as Ryan shakes his head.

"True if you got lost then your friends would probably kill me," Ryan amends with a small shrug.   
  
"My friends might kill you anyway," Michael snorts, stopping as Ryan stands in front of another door. They'd already visited everyone but Dan and the parrot. Michael assumes that Dan is next.  
  
"I sure hope not, that would be quite problematic on many levels," Ryan grumbles as he unlocks the door, opening it to find Dan standing against the wall with crossed arms and a curious look on his face.  
  
"About damn time, I was about ready to find you myself," The wolf Faunus greets, rolling his eyes before grinning.  
  
"Sorry, made sure to check on all the others before you," Ryan replies snarkily, grinning as well.  
  
"I see you also got the monkey that was after me, nice to see you not in a cage mate," Dan says as he walks over to stand closer to them.  
  
Michael raises an eyebrow, "Likewise, I see you two know each other already." He looks between Ryan and Dan pointedly.  
  
"Just a bit, this idiot managed to get himself caught while in the city, Joel told me about him so I was able to get him out," Ryan explains, tilting his head at Dan as the man looks sheepish.  
  
"Huh, so we were in the same boat basically," Michael smirks, shaking his head, "I also got caught in the city."  
  
"Place is bloody filled with Falconers! It's bloody ridiculous!" Dan exclaims, making the other two chuckle in agreement.  
  
"Ah well, you know where everything is Dan, warn me if you're going to leave alright?" Ryan says as he begins walking back out in the hallway.  
  
"Thanks for savin' me and all that Ryan," Dan replies, giving a small salute as Ryan closes the door behind him.  
  
Michael walks beside the man until he hears a sort of ringing noise echo through the building.  
  
"That would indicate that your friends are here," Ryan explains as Michael looks at him in confusion.  
  
"Seriously! Holy shit where are they," Michael says eagerly, looking down the hallway. Ryan smirks and explains how to get down the ground floor, barely finishing giving the directions before Michael takes off running, leaving the other man to sigh and go to check on the last Faunus he'd rescued before following.

* * *

  
  
"Gavin! Ray!" Michael yells in greeting as he slides to a stop in front of the two other Lads. They yell similar greetings as the three of them attempt to hug. Geoff and Jack watch them with small smiles and shaking heads as Ryan appears after a few more minutes. By this point the Lads have picked themselves up off the ground to watch the Gents.  
  
"Nice to see you two made it back alive," Ryan greets, smirking as Geoff and Jack scoff.  
  
"Well you would've known that we were alive if you actually used the communicator," Geoff replies with a huff.  
  
"Not my area of expertise," Ryan shrugs, ignoring the protests being shouted at him as he turns to look at Ray and Gavin. He tilts his head slightly as he glances over them, noticing bandages bunched up under their clothing. A second quick glance at Geoff and Jack and he notices the bruises on them as well.  
  
"But you're lucky I have some healing agents, they should work well enough for you all," He doesn't really wait for response, instead just beginning to walk back towards the stairs he'd come down to meet them. Geoff and Jack follow without question, but Gavin and Ray send Michael cautious glances before they start following as well.  
  
"So how bad are you guys hurt, I already know that you can't fly Gavin, but what about you Ray?" Michael asks, hoping he doesn't sound anxious as he notices Ray limping slightly, his tail tucked close to his body.  
  
"Just got shot in the leg, also there was the glass shards from the dust containers but I'll be fine," Ray assures. Michael doesn't really believe Ray, but lets it slide since Ryan has whatever the healing agent is.  
  
Ryan is deep in thought, something about the bird faunus is familiar, but he knows that he's never seen him before. Gavin is what Michael called him, and the cat was Ray, to be honest the three of them were really familiar...he just can't place from where.  
  
He pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind as he leads them into the quite medical looking room with multiple vials of glass and other miscellaneous jars on shelves. He gestures for them to sit somewhere as he starts looking for what he'd assumes he'll need. A frown marrs his expression as he can't find something that would help Gavin's back, meaning the faunus would have to let his wings heal on their own.

* * *

  
  
Ryan dismisses them once he finishes healing the two faunus the best he could, saying that he wanted to talk with Geoff and Jack. Michael eagerly grabs Ray and Gavin's arms, leading them out of the hallway.  
  
"Guess what we can do now," He exclaims with a shit eating grin when they look at him in confusion, "We can explore this fucking place! it's huge!"  
  
"Oh, alright sounds like fun!' Gavin agrees quickly, smiling as well.  
  
"Maybe he actually has a dungeon hidden somewhere," Ray smirks, making the other two shudder in horror at the thought, then laugh.  
  
They venture down to a lower floor, most of the rooms are filled withe white boards filled out with diagrams, but walking past one room makes Gavin pause and backtrack.  
  
"Guys come look at this," He walks into the room, eyes scanning over the cabinets towering over their heads.  
  
"What do you think this is?" Michael asks quietly, his voice echoing in the large room.  
  
Ray walks over to a cabinet and tugs open a drawer, picking a file at random and opening it. "Name: Adam Birthdate- dude these are files on people," Ray scans over the rest of the information before replacing it and looking at the labels on the cabinet drawers. He walks down to where his name would be and opens the cabinet, eyes widening when he actually finds it.  
  
"Dude," he murmurs, cautiously opening the file, then immediately slamming it shut.  
  
"Did you find your file Ray?" Gavin questions, grin falling away when he sees Ray's distressed expression.  
  
Ray doesn't answer, tucking the files into the waistband of his jeans and avoiding eye contact as he pulls his shirt over it. Michael eyes his friend before searching for his own file, eyes widening as he folds it quickly to fit into his pocket.  
  
Gavin casts his eyes down to the file also clutched between his fingers, he didn't want to look through it, he knows nearly everything will be blank.  
  
"Lets get out of here before Ryan catches us," Michael is the one to suggest this, walking quickly over to the doorway with a single glance back to see if they were following before retracing their steps back up to the main floor.

Ryan meets them there, not really greeting them, but indicating he was going to show them something else. He only speaks when Michael notices where they're going.

"I'm showing you guys where you can stay, its got four beds but I figured since you'd been reunited you'd want to stay in the same room," He explains as he stops in front of a door. "There's a phone comm thingie, to hell if I remember the name, that you can  call me with if you need anything. There's also sets of clothes, I think two, in the dressers, help yourselves."

And with that he just leaves, the three faunus just glancing at each other before claiming their beds quickly. It's dark out, they'd been wandering around longer than they'd thought, so the three of them kind of shrug before changing into clean clothes, climbing under covers without so much of a goodnight.

* * *

Ryan stands in the hall for a few moment, searching his memories for where he could've possible seen them, before the thought suddenly hitting him.

They were on the Buyers List.


	11. Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who is an awful author. This girl. I have been paying more attention to my other stories, and I really really want to finish this one because I hate leaving stories unfinished even though it's an awful habit of mine. And I've left this one for far too long and I apologize for that. I might try to wrap up some details quicker than I planned, but the story will be finished, I'll probably work on revising it a bit then.

Ray can't sleep, and he knows why, it's just that he can't fix it. The typed out words burn an image into his mind, that's a word he doesn't need to be thinking about. Burned.   
  
He concentrates on the soft breathing of Gavin and Michael, glad that his two friends were safe and within proximity. He takes a deep breath, curling into a more fetal position as images rise unbidden to the front of his mind, the smell of smoke accompanying them. He knows he's going to have nightmares, but he grits his teeth and lets his eyelids fall closed, exhaustion overwhelming the fear of living through the memories.   
  
**Name: Ray [surname unknown]  
**

**Birthdate: Unknown [age in twenties]**

** Status: Faunus [cat gene] **

** Actions: Unknown  
**

** Familial Relations: Unknown  **

** Caretakers: deceased (Cause of death: fire. Culprits never found )  
**

** Bounty code: cAnd0ROp **

**Buyer: J.g.R. **

 

_The smoke burns his lungs, he can't see, he can't hear anything over the roar of the flames. He crawls on his hands and knees, completely blind as he runs into the debris lying on the ground._

_"HEY!" he screams, "HELP US!" His voice doesn't carry, and he knows that it only makes him cough harder as he tries to take a breath. Closing his eyes, he stands still as he tries to comprehend where exactly he is in the burning remnants of their house. Singling out the sound of sirens, he sprints toward the noise, holding back screams as the flames lick as his arms and legs._

_Ray's senses sharpen as he bursts into open air, his lungs protesting every inhale as he collapses onto the cool grass. He can feel the heat on his face, but he can't move as he watches with blurred vision as the place he called home for as long as he remembers, turns to ashes._   
  
_The blurred outline of someone fades out, running along the side of the house as Ray can't watch anymore, eyes falling shut._

"Ray, Ray you need to wake up," Gavin whispers softly, easily avoiding Ray's thrashing about in his sleep. The cat's eyes flash open quickly, gleams of silver shining through the dark brown as his eyes adjust to the darkness in the room. He turns slightly to the side, calming his panicked breaths as he recognizes Gavin.

"Did I scream or anything?" Ray asks first, speaking quietly when he notices Michael is still asleep.

"No, I just wasn't sleeping very well either," Gavin says with a soft shake of his head. Ray nods, rubbing a hand over his face as he sits up, feeling like he wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon.

"Was it about your file?"

Ray chuckles weakly, "How could you tell?" trying to take the brunt out of his anxiousness with a few easy jokes.

"I think we're all pretty messed over them Ray," Gavin mumbles. They both fall silent for a moment, listening to their own breathing for a moment before Ray's ears prick, and he glances over at Michael.

"Wake him up," Ray murmurs to Gavin, bringing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He lets his tail curl around his ankles as he watches Gavin wake up Michael. The monkey faunus's breath calms as he sits up and rubs at his eyes, looking around in slight confusion before realizing where he was and what was going on.  
  
"Can't sleep?" He asks quietly, looking at the two of them.  
  
"I couldn't and Ray was having a nightmare," Gavin explains simply.  
  
"Ah," Is all Michael says, following Ray's movement of pulling his knees up to his chest.  
  
They sit in the silence, staring at different points on the wall. They're taking time to sort through their thoughts, but the silence is starting to unnerve Ray as he tries not to delve too deep into his memories.  
  
"What did your file say Michael? Anything you didn't know?" He asks quietly. Michael's head snaps up to look at him, before his expression morphs into a frown.  
  
The monkey faunus shakes his head, "No, just recorded information from my past. It just had some things I didn't want to remember."  
  
Ray nods, "Same with mine." He turns to look at Gavin who had fallen even quieter and is staring intensely at the ground.  
  
"Anything bothering you Gav?" Michael asks softly, also noticing the bird's quietness.  
  
Gavin shakes his head quickly, "Mine's the same as it always is," He mumbles.  
  
The two other Lads are quiet, but Ray doesn't let the silence consume them again. "I wonder why Ryan has them."  
  
"He's a pretty high-end member of society, I think it would make sense that he would have so much information on everyone. He is also in the trading business," Michael answers, having mused on that question before he'd fallen asleep.   
  
"Yeah that does make a lot of sense," Ray replies, nodding.  
  
"At least he's not the psycho we'd heard about," Gavin says with a small smile.  
  
Michael snorts, "I'd be dead if he had been."

* * *

  
  
After realizing where he'd seen the three faunus before, Ryan makes his way towards his office, where Jack and Geoff were waiting for him. His mouth is pressed into an angry line as he storms inside, shutting the door and turning to the two other Gents.  They turn to look at him with confusion but aren't given a second to say anything.  
  
"Ray, Michael, and Gavin are on the Buyers List," He states bluntly, glancing over to register the shock on their faces.  
  
"You're joking," Geoff says, flabbergasted.  
  
"Why would they-?" Jack begins to ask before Ryan cuts him off.  
  
"No idea, I just remember them. Someone has been after them for years, literally years. They've somehow managed to stay out of the buyer's reach for such a long time I don't even understand."  
  
"What makes them so valuable though? They're just three faunus on the run right?" Jack asks, confused.  
  
Ryan begins pacing, eyebrows creased together as he sorts through his thoughts. "I no longer have access to the buyers list, J made sure of that. The last time I looked at it was near three months ago. But..."  
  
"What were their status's?" Geoff asks.  
  
"As if I could remember every little bit of information," Ryan replies with a wave of his hand, "They were all three together, same buyer, a ridiculous amount of money. But why..."  
  
Jack frowns, "Well, maybe they're so expensive because they're meant to be bought together."  
  
Geoff freezes, suddenly realizing something, "Wait, why did J sell Michael then. He sold Michael separately, and not to the intended buyer, because you're the one who bought him."  
  
An ominous strike of lighting makes them jump, and Ryan looks out the window with a frown. He pulls the curtains closed and turns back to the Gents, sighing. Rain begins to patter against the building, adding a soft background noise.  
  
"I don't know, I haven't been able to figure out J's motives for awhile now," Ryan eventually sighs, running a hand through his hair.  
  
"And with Joel on his side too..."  
  
The slamming of a door catches their attention, and they all go silent as someone starts shouting.  
  
"Ryan!"  
  
Geoff and Jack turn to look at him, questions clear on their faces. Ryan's face dawns with realization, and he hurries out into the hall, quickly making his way down the many hallways down the entry hall.  
  
The three lads come skidding down the stairs soon afterward, curious to who it is. They pale as they see that Joel is standing in the entryway, soaking wet and holding a communications device.  
  
"J...Falconers...attack...tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is short but the action will start in the next chapter, so I didn't want to try and make it too much longer. This chapter is also lackluster because half of it had been typed a few months ago, and I just wasn't sure what to add to it. The next one will be better I promise.


	12. Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monty Oum was a brilliant man and a great inspiration to all of us. Many of us owe him, and he kept us all going. I hope everyone has strength in this tough time. Lets all do something creative. 
> 
> After posting this, I will be taking a short hiatus from all of my stories to gather myself, as I feel that would be the best decision for me. I hope you all understand, and I hope that this story has been enjoyable. I almost feel guilty posting this, but since I was unable to post it yesterday, I feel I owe it to you guys. 
> 
> Forgive me for any mistakes, I didn't proofread it that well, I will most likely go back and edit things better once I return to writing.

* * *

  
"Joel?" Geoff asks incredulously, standing a safe distance away next to Ryan. The Lads stand next to the stairs, Ray and Gavin standing in front of Michael and giving the man a wary stare.    
  
"I couldn't keep up the front any longer, J saw past me," Joel starts out by saying, brushing his hair back out of his face.  
  
"Wait, let me get you a towel or something, you're dripping water everywhere," Ryan says, quickly moving off down a side hallway before tossing a towel at Joel.   
  
"Thanks," The older man says, tossing the communicator to Jack, who was closest, as he tries to get some of the moisture off of him. "Anyway, I gave you guys enough time to get away, J had told me to keep you guys there with whatever means necessary. It was unfortunate that you guys managed to get past all of the security systems," Joel smirks then keeps the towel on his shoulder.   
  
"So...you actually helped us escape?" Ray asks, having slowly moved closer as Joel had explained.   
  
"Yeah, I mean I knew you guys were on the List and J really wanted you three because of it, and it was honestly too much to pass up," Joel replies with a small shrug.   
  
"What did you say about Falconers and an attack?" Ryan asks, interrupting Ray before he could ask another question.   
  
Joel's expression becomes grim, "Tomorrow. J knows that you've got some valuable faunus here, six in total is what he told me, but I have a feeling there's more. He was going to do do it tonight, but the storm hit before he could." A crash of thunder echoes his words.   
  
Ryan's gaze hardens, "I can't believe him. We have to leave then, tonight."  
  
Joel shakes his head quickly, "No, that would be a bad plan too, he sent out a sort of first wave of Falconers to watch the mansion. I was about half an hour in front of them, but we're surely surrounded by now."  
  
"You're joking, right?" Michael asks nervously, looking towards one of the large bay windows.   
  
"Sadly no. There's no getting out of here unseen."  
  
Ryan growls under his breath before sighing and continuing, "There's you three, then Dan and Meg, that snake-Cody, then...there's too many Faunus on the list here," He eventually says.   
  
"Exactly," Joel sighs, "I wanted to warn you sooner, but that thing," He tilts his head at the communicator, "Wouldn't work properly."  
  
"So what are we going to do? Stay and fight? Or try to run?" Geoff inquires.   
  
"Too late to run, especially if some of us can't escape that well at the moment," Ryan replies immediately, sending a glance to Gavin, "It would also be a bad plan to stay and fight."  
  
"Well then what can we do?" Michael asks angrily, "According to you we don't have any options!"  
  
"They're both not good options," Ryan snaps back. "One is just better than the other."  
  
"Fighting?" Ray inquires quietly.   
  
"Sadly yes."

* * *

  
  
Ryan calls together the faunus remaining in the mansion, and any other workers. Most had been woken up-since it was quite early in the morning, but understood once the situation was explained.   
  
"So we're fighting?" Dan asks once the explanation was over. He'd been listening attentively the entire time, ears flickering every so often with the storm still raging outside.   
  
"It's our only option at this point," Ryan says apologetically.   
  
The wolf faunus shrugs, "Doesn't matter as long as you give us weapons."  
  
"Joel how long do we have till the main group get here?" Jack asks after a few moments of thoughtful silence.   
  
"Mid-day tomorrow, by then the two groups will have combined, Falconers and the capture group working together with J."  
  
Ryan grins, "Perfect.   
  
The group of Ray, Ryan, Geoff, Jack, Michael, Gavin, Dan, and Barbara are lead down to the lower floors, past the rooms of file cabinets and to a double locked door, which Ryan unlocks with a tap to both locks.   
  
"Holy shit," Michael breathes, being the one to walk in first. The room is large, and for good reason. Plastered across the walls are all of the weapons they could ever think of. Hybrids and normal, antiques and models that had came out yesterday, and in one corner there were crates of even more unpacked ones.   
  
"Can we..?" Ray asks, gesturing at the weapons. Ryan grins.   
  
"Knock yourselves out."  
  
Gavin makes a beeline for the long range weapons, which were all gathered on the left side of the back wall. He grabs a quiver of arrows, reading the labels with a mischievous grin before selecting hybrid crossbow.   
  
Michael and Barbara stare at the swords, both trying to figure out which one they wanted the most. Michael still had his broadsword, but the weapon couldn't use any dust compartments or switch into two knives, so he felt like he needs a backup.   
  
Geoff, Jack, and Ray cluster by the guns, discussing the weapons they're inspecting. Ray's only there to offer advice, only bothering to grab enough bullets to last what would seem like a lifetime to anyone else.   
  
Dan hangs back by Ryan for a few moments. "Do you really think we'll have to fight our way out of this?" He asks quietly.   
  
Ryan sighs, "I trust Joel, and knowing J he wont let us leave without a fight."  
  
Dan nods in understanding, "Yeah, it just seems like a lot of trouble that J is going to go through that could be avoided."  
  
"That is true, but I guess he's just trying to wrap things up, since all of us are gathered in one place," Ryan frowns, "Or at least that's what I hope he's thinking."

* * *

  
The day dawns with heavy clouds hanging over the sky as far as they could see. The darkened atmosphere doesn't help with any of their morale as they all begin to spot telltale signs of Falconers.   
  
Michael, Ray, and Gavin are sitting by a bay window, ducked down just enough to be seen. Ray, Dan, Gavin, and Barbara have the best eyesight at the moment, and are ready to say whenever they're moving in.  
  
"They're going to try to cut us off, making sure we can't get out," Ryan observes, calmly watching as groups of Falconers inch closer to the open space between the forest and his mansion.  
  
As the morning passes, J appears.  
  
"Ryan!" He yells cheerfully, "I hope you can hear me!"  
  
The windows are opened just enough to let sound in, although Ryan moves to stand out of viewpoint from the glass.  
  
"I just need those three Faunus! They have quite influential buyers, you'll want to hand them over," The man continues, still sounding jovial.  
  
"Eh, I say go fuck yourself," Ryan yells back casually. They all look at Ryan with a mix of shock and horror, and yet grins were stretching across their features.  
  
"You could've made an unimaginable amount of money off of them Ryan, I'm sorry that you refused my gracious offer, now if you would excuse me..."  
  
They all glance out the window, eyes widening as they realize what J is doing. In a few quick movements, they've all moved away from the wall and are barely into the next room as the outside wall is blown to bits. Fire begins to lick at the frayed edges of the floors.  
  
"Move, head upstairs," Ryan says quickly. They all listen to him without question, Ray and Dan quickly outpacing them and arriving on the rooftop with weapons raised.  "Burnie'll be here soon with hovercrafts, we've just got to hold out till then. "  
  
"You've had an escape plan," Geoff says with a smirk, "Clever bastard."  
  
Ryan grins, "Always have a backup plan."  
  
However the battle quickly intensifies as Falconers come to meet them on the roof, guns out and aiming. It's an even fight, until their hovercrafts show up.  
  
"Shit-!" Michael curses as he has to dodge a missile, and starts to fall from the roof. Gavin is suddenly there, catching him and tossing him back up before flying back up himself, face pained.  
  
"Gavin don't be so fucking stupid! You can't be flying!" Michael yells angrily at him, once again barely avoiding a hail of bullets.  
  
"Well I wasn't about to let you fall!" Gavin replies in a strained voice, moving to the side to avoid a dust explosion. He remains nearby Michael, with Ray just off to their left. Gavin's movements aren't as quick as usual, which Michael  knows is because of his wings  
  
"Burnie's taking his sweet ass time now, isn't he!" Geoff shouts as he manages to knock a few Falconers to the ground with a few hits to their shoulders. Their numbers only seem to grow as the time passes and he's becoming increasingly worried for the faunus they're supposed to be protecting. Gavin's already been forced into the air a few more times.  
  
The air-vibrating hum of a hovercraft knocks them around as another few show up and drop off more groups of Falconers onto the roof before backing off. Their situation grows increasingly worse by the minute.  
  
"We need to get ahold of one of their hovercrafts," Ryan yells, his voice barely heard over the sounds of explosions, "Burnie won't even be able to get to us at this rate!"  
  
Geoff looks up at the machines firing down on them, "How do you propose we fucking get one of those?"  
  
Ryan shrugs, ducking down from a dust explosion, "Ask Gavin or something!"  
  
Geoff curses, but makes his way over to where Ray, Gavin, and Michael were fighting together, "We need to get a hold of one of their hovercrafts, any ideas?"  
  
Michael makes a face, "Gavin isn't fucking flying up there if that's what you're suggesting."  
  
"I can do it if I have to!" Gavin protests, pausing only to shoot over Ray's head towards a Falconer.  
  
"You're going to hurt yourself even more dumbass!" Michael answers, glaring at the bird faunus.  
  
Ray rolls his eyes and holsters his gun, "Give me a boost Michael, I've got this."  
  
They stare dubiously at the cat faunus, but take a step back and cover him as Michael makes a cradle out of his hands.  
  
"Aim at that one," Ray says, pointing towards the somewhat damaged hovercraft heading their way. Michael nods in understanding and winces as Ray pushes off from his hand in combination with him pushing the cat faunus upwards.  
  
Gavin manages to knock the Falconers nearest to Ray out of the air as the cat bounds past them, landing on the sloped side of the craft. They all hold their breath as Ray scrambles for a handhold, before managing to break a window and climb inside. A collective sound of relief leaves them as they turn back to their own battle, knowing Ray could handle himself from here.  
  
Michael glances at Gavin, then behind him to where they hadn't noticed a hovercraft had been moving in.  
  
"Gavi-!" He begins to yell, but not fast enough. An explosion knocks them back from each other, sending Michael and Gavin off the edge of the roof. Cursing, Michael catches Gavin's arm as the bird faunus attempts to slow their fall, but is unable to do enough before another explosion follows after them.

* * *

  
  
Michael tries to get up, but finds someone on top of him, knowing almost immediately that it's Gavin as he feels the soft brush of feathers against his arm. The sounds of battle are muted, and he can feel blood running down the side of his face. He gently pushes Gavin off of him, sitting up only to regret the decision to move. Blood is slicking his arm and side, but he knows it's not his.  
  
"Gavin?"  
  
The whispered question is left unanswered, and Michael fights the pounding in his head as he notices something uneven about the bird faunus.  
  
A second after he realizes what it is, he lets out a choked scream.

* * *

  
  
**(Epilogue)**  
  
"Hey boi, today's the day!"  
  
Michael grumbles under his breath in annoyance Gavin's exclamation, which had been made about three other times that day. However he does understand his excitement, today was the day that Gavin would be fitted with the bionic wing that had been in the works for nearly four years.  
  
After the battle, Burnie had taken them to a safe house where all of them got treated for injuries, but Gavin's was by far the worse. He'd lost a wing in the explosion after all.  
  
Then, after a long while of recovering, they all split up, Ryan leaving to begin research on creating a new wing for Gavin, which he promised he would be able to do. Ray and Joel began traveling to find a better place to stay, and Gavin and Michael went with Geoff and Jack back to their place in the forest.  
  
There were some loose ends left untied, J had disappeared after that, and it was said that violence towards the faunus had decreased, but none of them were really taking the chance to find it out themselves (they were still sort of criminals after all). That battle was the last they'd seen of him, when he'd jumped into a darkened hovercraft that concealed itself before flying away.  
  
Michael watches as Gavin grins and paces around the kitchen a few more times, his one wing fluttering to mirror to his excitement. A small smile curls the corner of Michael's mouth as he hears Ryan yelling from the front of the house. He follows Gavin out front, waving in greeting to the mad scientist.

Today was the day Gavin would fly again.  
  
He couldn't be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts and prayers to everyone close to Monty.


End file.
